


Fixed Points Can Be Rewritten

by emilyisfictional



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Darillium, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Fixed Points, Lake Silencio, Luna University, Post-Episode: s12e01-02 Spyfall, Post-Library River Song, Pre-Episode: s12e03 Orphan 55, Pre-Library River Song, Spoilers Spyfall, Time-Lord Lie, Time-Skip, Timeless Child, sheffield - Freeform, theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 23,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22141615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyisfictional/pseuds/emilyisfictional
Summary: The Master told the Doctor that the Time-Lords had been lying to them their entire lives.But what exactly were they lying about?(CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SPYFALL PT 1&2)(Completed)
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/River Song, The Doctor/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/River Song, Twelfth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 73
Kudos: 414





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched Spyfall in the cinema today and I was immediately struck with a thousand theories on what the Time-Lords could be lying about and who the Timeless Child could be. So here’s my interpretation of what could happen. Spoilers from Spyfall! I want to make it very clear for future reference (hi future readers! Hope S12 lived up to our expectations!) Episode, 3 and the rest of Season 12 has not been released yet! This is completely just my theory after watching Spyfall.

Fixed Points Can Be Rewritten 

**Lake Silencio - 5:02 p.m - April 22nd, 2011**

The Doctor scrunched his face, readying himself for the hot blast from River’s astronaut suit. The rapid-fire sound made him cringe. Once, twice, three-times. When it got to five, the Doctor realized something was off. Strange. Usually, when he was killed he felt more dead. He opened one eye. And then the other. 

Upon realizing he was very much so, not dead he looked to River. Who smiled with a, “Hello sweetie.”

“What have you done?” he asked, inspecting his very alive body, face aghast.

“Well,” she started, looking particularly proud of herself. “I think I just drained my weapons systems,” she told him. She seemed smug with herself, though she always looked particularly smug when it came to the Doctor. 

“But this is fixed,” he insisted. “This is a fixed point in time.” Wasn’t that the point? According to the database of the teselecta he always died here, because of her. She was in jail for murder, probably his murder and there was nothing he could do to change that. 

Or so he thought.

“Fixed points can be rewritten,” she informed him matter-of-factly. 

“No, they can’t!” His eyes widening as he realized what was about to happen. “Of course they can’t! Who told you th-” 

And then, everything stopped. Then everything happened. And it kept happening.

But you already know _that_ story. 

**The Tardis - Sheffield - January 4th, 2020 (Morning)**

The hologram spoke. “Geo activated. If you’re seeing this, you’ve been to Gallifrey. When I said _someone_ did that, obviously, I meant _I_ did it. I had to make them pay for what I discovered. They lied to us. Founding fathers of Gallifrey. Everything we were told is a lie. We are not who we think. You or I. Whole existence of our species. Built on the lie of the Timeless Child.”

**The Tardis - Sheffield - January 5th, 2020 (Afternoon)**

“Hey Doc, you okay?” Graham asked quietly. 

She blinked a few times, not noticing that he had come to stand beside her. She had been staring at the spot where the Master’s form had been mere hours before. When he told her that he was the one who had razed Gallifrey. When he told her that her existence was a lie.

She still didn’t understand where he had gone wrong.

She recalled his previous incarnation. The Doctor remembered thinking for a shimmering moment that the Master had finally turned good. She had believed the friendship that had blossomed surrounding Missy’s time in the Quantum Fold Chamber had meant something to the renegade time lord. It certainly meant the world to the Doctor. 

“Doc?” Graham repeated. 

“What?” She shook her head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Gang’s all here then?” she asked rubbing her hands.

“Ah, not quite. Just waitin’ on Yaz,” Graham told her. “I think she’s a bit embarrassed. Asking about your home like that.”

“Nah. That is, she shouldn’t be. It’s all right.” The Doctor forced a smile. “Maybe one day.”

“So where are we off to today then?” Ryan asked, joining the two at the steps. 

The Doctor pushed past them, stretching and wiggling her fingers. Aching to get to the bottom of why the Master would do something like this to their home.

**Darillium - Year 3**

“Darling?”

“Yes, Sweetie?”

“I was thinking about something you said to me once.”

“And what was that?”

“Remember when we were at Lake Silencio?”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “The time I killed you or the time you made me watch?”

“The first time,” he said. “Or more specifically, the time you didn’t kill me.”

“I’ll tell you right now Sweetie, a lot of that is a blur to me.”

“I know, I know Just, bear with me.”

“Alright.”

“You drained your weapons system and said that fixed points can be rewritten.”

“Did I?”

“Yes, and I asked you where you had heard that. But time stopped before you could answer.”

“Did it now?”

“Yes.”

“Well,” she thought about this for a moment, trying to recall the event. Which was difficult when you experienced it four different ways. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“What?”

“Who told me that.”

“How did you know that’s what I was going to ask.” She gave him a look. His normally astute face like a confused puppy. “Alright fair enough but you really can’t remember?” he asked. “Doesn’t exactly seem like the kind thing you’d forget.”

She shrugged, “does it matter? We’re both alive, and we have each other for now. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yes,” the Doctor softened as his wife climbed into their shared bed, diary in hand. The Doctor had gotten her a new one so she wouldn’t keep asking him why hers was now almost completely full. He climbed into bed, wondering who his wife’s source was, and why she couldn’t remember whoever it was. For if it was true that some fixed points could be rewritten then perhaps somehow he could right a wrong that had happened years ago in a particular Library. 

In fact, he could right many wrongs.

**The Tardis - Sheffield - January 5th, 2020 (Late Afternoon)**

“All right you lot,” the Doctor announced as Yaz finally entered the box. “We’re off.” 

“And where exactly are we going?” Yaz asked, dropping her bag on a conveniently placed coat rack. 

“Earth’s moon.” She told them. “51st Century.”

“Why are we going to the moon?” Ryan asked. Yaz and Graham turned to him. “What? All I’m saying is it seems a bit random?”

“Hasn’t anyone told you, Ryan?” the Doctor grinned, pulling at a switch. “I’m the King of Random, ” she turned the corner and before the fam could follow her she turned back to them. “Well, Queen, that is, of Random.” She turned on her heel once more, then immediately backtracked. “Actually no, that’s a stupid name.” She stuck two thumbs up. “Let’s stick with Doctor!” She raced around the time rotor. 

“Doctor?” Yaz called after her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just. You’ve been so on-the-go lately. Don’t you need to take a break? I know you’re a time-lord or whatever but don’t you ever get tired.”

The Doctor turned a few switches then returned to the side of the console the fam was at. “Yaz. I’m grateful for your concern. I really-” the Doctor reached up to pull a very out-of-reach handle, “- am but I’ve been running for years.” She finally flicked the final switch. “And I’m not slowing down now. Not when I have so many questions demanding answers.”

“Questions about what?” Ryan asked.

The brakes sounded as the Tardis disappeared from earth and arrived on the moon. 

“Everything.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is just the beginning!  
> These are also just the first few parts that I kinda panic wrote after being emotionally drained from Spyfall! Feel free to drop a comment and kudos!! 💕


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got such lovely responses on the first part so here we are! Part 2!  
> I've actually started outlining it because I want this to be good!  
> Don't worry I know what I'm doing

**The Tardis - Earth’s Moon - 5123**

“Doctor why are these robes so heavy,” Yaz complained.

“I think she told me once that it was cause learning is a privilege that you have to work for or something like that.” The Doctor replied as she shimmed into her own robe. “It also might have to do with the gravity of the planet. Which reminds me!” The Doctor reached for something underneath one of the consoles. “You all are going to need these.” She handed each of her companions a grey mask. “You put it over your face and then your DNA is protected from the Moon’s lack of atmosphere. We just need to wear ‘em till we’re inside.”

“She?” Ryan asked not missing a beat.

“Doctor, why aren’t we just parking the TARDIS inside?” Yaz asked

“Yeah, we could bypass the whole breathing mask thing,” Graham added.

But the Doctor already had her mask on and she looked adamant, even though the three couldn’t see her face. The fam was used to her not telling them the whole story. But this felt different. Her happy-go-lucky nature had been replaced with something darker. Something happened while they had been separated. 

So the three equipped themselves with the strange alien technology and followed the Doctor onto the cold surface of the moon. 

**Luna University - Earth’s Moon - 5123**

Her eyes.

Once they crossed into the school grounds and augmented gravity shields protected the university from a. floating off into space and b. suffocating students who needed oxygen to breathe, they could remove their masks. 

Her eyes were the first thing Yaz noticed.

They weren’t her own.

At least not the Doctor they had seen. 

She knew the Doctor was alien and Yaz knew she was older than she looked.

But the moment she took her mask off, for a split second. She looked as though another mask had fallen. She looked ancient. As if thousands of years of hurt and vulnerability and fear was a tidal wave that could drown her at any instant. 

It was only for the briefest of moments. The type of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of accident. 

But it sufficed. Yaz knew this was no random spacewalk.

The doors were made of some sort of black rock that seemed to glow in, well the Earth’s light. The fam had seen earth at a distance before. But everything still seemed so small compared to what they had seen. 

“Zero-balanced dwarf star alloy.” The Doctor explained. “Very strong. Very hard to find. Incredibly useful, especially for keeping out time-sensitive species.”

“Is that why we had to park the TARDIS outside?” Yaz asked.

“Partly.” The Doctor admitted. “Partly because I didn’t want anyone to notice it.”

“Notice what?”

The four turned suddenly. Yaz gasped aloud as the speaker turned out to be an old man, who looked as old as the Doctor was. The Doctor’s grin widened. “Professor Candy!”

The old man squinted and then removed a monocle from his breast pocket, fastening it to his eye. “Why, could it be?” He removed the monocle and his face crinkled. A happy crinkle, but a crinkle nonetheless. “Doctor?”

“Hi there, Professor!” The Doctor grinned. 

“Why you’ve changed! A few times, dare I say.”

She made no move to respond. She asked him something without words. 

After a few moments of intense eye contact, the Professor said, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” 

“What’s not a very good idea?” Graham asked. “Come on Doc, you’ve got to give us something.” 

The Doctor turned to her friends. “We are about to meet one of the most brilliant people in the entire universe. And no, I am not overreacting like I was when I introduced you to the Beatles.”

“To be fair you were probably trying to introduce us to the band,” said Ryan. “Is this to do with the ‘she’ you were talking about on the TARDIS?”

He had remembered that then. Her slip up. She didn’t normally slip up. It was getting more and more often. 

“Yes, Ryan. She’s going to be able to help us with our,” she paused. Remembering Professor Candy was still there. “Problem!” She decided. “Any idea where I can find her then?”

Professor Candy sighed, still not believing this was a good idea probably. “She’s probably in class for another few doboshs so why don’t you four just go to a cafeteria Y7 and meet her there.”

“I’d like to nab her as soon as she’s out of class if at’s all the same to you?”

“Hmmm,” Professor Candy grumbled. “Yes, alright. She’ll be in Lecture Hall 4 probably.”

She kissed the elderly man on the cheek then turned to her fam. “Let’s get a shift on then! We only have a few doboshs to find Lecture Hall 4!”

She sprinted down the hall.

“Doctor wait!” Yaz called as the three followed closely behind.

“Doctor, what problem?” Ryan asked as they caught up to her, rounding a corner. 

“What? A problem?” The Doctor read a plaque. 

_Lecture Hall 93_

That wasn’t too helpful then.

“Yeah, you told that Professor-guy that you were looking for someone to help us fix a problem.” 

The Doctor was silent as she read the next plaque.

_Lecture Hall 2093_

Drats. 

“It’s not like you to keep secrets Doc,” Graham said. “Well it is but not when it might put us in danger like this,” he amended. 

“I can assure you three that you are in no danger here,” she promised. “Luna University is known for being one of the safest campuses on this side of the milky way for this century.”

“You say that, but trouble always seems to find us.” 

“Not here,” the Doctor promised. “Not now. She only wanted the best for her education.”

Another plaque.

_Lecture Hall 43_

Alright getting closer than.

“Who exactly is this she?” Graham asked.

“You mentioned her before,” Ryan said. “On the TARDIS. Are we looking for a student.”

“Sort of,” the Doctor finally conceded. “Well yes. She’s here studying archaeology but she’s much more than just a student, Ryan.”

_Lecture Hall 7_

There! Just across the hall!

A cloister bell rang, reverberating throughout the golden halls. Students of all shapes and sizes came filing out of the lecture halls and then there-

And close enough to reach.

Was _she_.

Close enough to touch.

The Doctor turned to her friends. A grin plastered across her face that was so big yet so sad. “Fam I’m going to introduce you to my wife”

She then bounded across the hall.

“Wait!”

“Doctor!”

“Your what!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed pt II! Pt III is on the way!  
> As always I love kudos and comments 😄💕


	3. Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part III! I've outlined the next few parts! Now it's just time to make them coherent! Thank you all so much for your lovely, lovely comments and kudos! It makes my heart soar! This chapter is a little bit longer than the other two (mainly cause I got a bit carried away :D )

**Darillium - Year 2**

“Darling?”

“Yes Sweetie?”

Her head was on his chest. She could hear both his hearts beating steadily as they swayed to the soft sound of piano music from their record player. 

His lips were against her hair as he whispered, “I have a question.”

She looked up at her husband. The sun was setting so everything about his sharp face was warm. The worried crease between his brows had settled during their second year. Here there was nothing to worry about. Here they could take things slow like they had all the time in the world. She wished they did. He was kinder. Softer. 

And curious, always curious. They had always been so caught up in themselves. Not knowing what they could reveal about their relationship to the other. Tiptoeing around the spoilers and barely able to connect the dots because neither of them knew the full story.

‘Spoilers’ had now become memories to look back on during cold nights by the fire. 

“Yes?” She asked after a long moment. He held one of her hands, the other curled around her waist.

“Why did you erase you and Ramone’s wedding from his memory.”

She looked at him questioningly, “what made you think about that.”

“Just wondering if I should be worried,” he lied.

She chuckled, “I don’t think I could erase that memory if I tried.” She squeezed his hand. He officially knew she was avoiding the question when she said, “or any subsequent memories that came after.”

Maybe not so much the question, but the answer.

“River,” he prodded dropping her hand. She could feel him start to tense up.

“Alright, alright settle down,” she placed her hands on his back soothingly. She didn’t look at him. “It’s embarrassing.I suppose it’s because I was being petty.”

“How so?”

“He said some things, and before you get your knickers in a twist, he was right about them. I just wasn’t read to hear them,” she sighed shaking her head. “And I wanted to hurt him.” The Doctor was about to say something, probably something about how revenge wasn’t the way, but River cut him off. “I felt like I didn’t know him. He lied about something. I wanted to hurt him so bad.”

He felt her seize up. He held her tighter. 

“I wanted to kill him,”

“Well it wouldn’t be the first time you killed a husband,” he reasoned.

She let out a strangled laugh. She hurriedly wiped a tear that had escaped. “No it wouldn’t.” He wiped another tear that had deigned to fall down her perfect face. “I was going to as well. I had this whole plan,” she whispered softly.

“What did he say? Why didn’t you?”

She was silent. He looked down at her face. She was never silent for this long. That was one of the things he loved about her. He could always find her buzzing around, usually the kitchen trying to find food. He’d then watch her for a few moments then suggest they go to a corner store.

Yes.

Darillium had corner stores.

Their cottage was quaint. Like something you would see in a Studio Ghibli movie. If Studio Ghibli movies took place on a different planet. Sometimes it felt like the first time he had exhaled after a life of holding his breath.

She still hadn’t responded.

“River?” He cupped her cheek and angled her head towards his. 

She had a blank look. Her eyebrows were furrowed. “I can’t remember.”

“Sounds like he took something from you as well.” 

The final mystery of River Song.

“Could he do that?” 

“It’s not impossible.”

She frowned, “well that’s rude.”

“Probably saved his life. Besides you two seemed pretty cosy when I first met him. If you had seen chinny I think he may have been heartbroken.”

“I was only putting up with him ‘cause I wanted to make you jealous,” she told him. Some of her spunk returning.

“What? Why?” The Doctor looked offended.

“Because I missed you,” she responded simply. “I figured if I missed you enough eventually you’d show up, and maybe miss me too.”

He smiled, “well you were right about one thing.” 

“And what was that.”

“I missed you terribly.”

“Good, then I did my job,” she said with a smirk. 

The music ended but she settled her head back on the Doctor’s chest. 

“But why erase the wedding?”

She knew he was going to ask. She knew any yet she still couldn’t help but feel a certain heaviness in her heart. 

“Because my second wife did it to me. . . And nothing has hurt me more.”

**Luna University - Earth’s Moon - 5123**

_Tap, tap, tap._

A flash of blonde curls.

A warm smile, with a hint of something incomprehensibly sultry in its curve. 

There’s a face that all humans make when they’re trying to see if the remember someone’s face. Their eyes go a little squinty and sometimes their nose twitches. And you can usually tell the moment their brain decides if the know you. It’s easy, really, if you know what you’re looking for.

River checked out the Doctor. And it shouldn’t have hurt her so much when she finally said, “Can I help you?”

“Alright, so,” the Doctor said. “I need you to come with me.”

“I’m sorry?” She chuckled nervously. “Do I know you?”

They were starting to get some looks. Not only were they blocking the halls but it seemed that her wife had made quite a name for herself before she -

Well before she was her wife. 

The fam watched the Doctor with this strange woman from a distance. The Doctor had made no introduction and the look on her face before she bounded over like a puppy had been happiest they’d seen her in a long time. 

“Who’s that woman talking to Song?” They heard a man ask his friend. The three looked at the man who seemed to be looking at the Doctor and the woman.

“Sorry,” Yaz asked boldly. “Who’s that woman? With the-” she made an awkward sort of gesture around her head.

“Space hair,” Ryan substituted. 

“River Song you mean?” the first guy said laughing a bit. “You’re kidding.”

“Not really. I’m Yaz, this is Ryan and Graham. We’re new around here”

“What are you doing,” Graham whispered through gritted teeth as they all shook hands.

“If the Doctor won’t tell us things than we have to find out for ourselves.” She turned to the boys. Whose names, she learned, were Sov and Daniel. “So River Song. Who is she?” Yaz asked.

“Where do I begin,” Sov smiled awkwardly. “Well, she’s an archaeology major. Most of the students around here are either are scared shitless of her or want her.”

“Like in bed,” his friend clarified.

“Yes, thank you, Daniel.”

“She’s bangin hot when you see her up close.”

“Shut up Daniel,”

“See no one here has a shot with her though.”

“This one lad, Ramone, asked her on a date.”

“No one knows what she said.”

“But he looked so distressed afterwards.”

“Cause she’s only obsessed with this one guy.”

“The Doctor or something.” 

The three all exchanged worried glances. They couldn’t hear what the Doctor was saying to the woman, this River Song.

But she looked frustrated.

And infatuated. 

(“Please I just need to talk to you for a few minutes.”

“I can’t just skip class. I’ve got exams to study for. And a dissertation to finish. If I want to get my doctorate in a month like I’m supposed to.”

“But it’s really important. That fate of the universe could depend on it.”

She scoffed, “you’re worse than the Doctor.”

“The Doctor?” the Doctor, who was trying her very best to not seem Doctor-y, said. “Doctor who?”)

They watched as River gave her a curious look. Then looked away for a moment. The group all diverted their eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched River sigh and nod. She turned and walked in the opposite direction. The Doctor couldn’t have looked more thrilled, and yet so pensieve.

She approached the fam, Sov and Daniel. “Ah made friends?” She asked.

“Doctor. What was that?”

“Wait,” Daniel interrupted. “You’re the Doctor. River’s Doctor?”

“Thought you were supposed to be a man,” agreed Sov.  
“Whoops. Maybe just keep thinking that. For timeline’s sake.” 

“Did you get what you were looking for?” Ryan asked.

“Not quite.”

“How much not quite?” Yaz asked.

“Well. I didn’t exactly get to ask her. She had a class to get there plus, she can’t know me yet.”

“Can’t?” Ryan asked. 

“I don’t get it, who is she?” Graham asked.

“I told you! She’s my wife.”

“Yeah, you said that. But she looked like she hadn’t the faintest idea who you are.”

The Doctor stiffened. 

The cloister bell rang again overhead. Sov and Daniel excused themselves but kept their eyes on the Doctor even once they had passed her.

Her face was scrunched up in thought. “Alright. I guess I owe you some explanations.”

“Yeah, a bit,” Yaz agreed, stunned at how strange the Doctor had been acting lately. How many secrets she had been keeping. Ever since the incident with O and Vor. 

Oh. . .

“Doctor. You know you can trust us.”

The Doctor looked at each of them. Connected with each of them.

“I’m not going to tell you everything. Don’t think I could do it. But, there’s a cafeteria down the hall and a couple of doboshes before the classes end. And I can tell you some things.”

So the Doctor walked with her friends down the hall. Thinking to herself how she could possibly tell them the story of the madman and his psychopath. And how she could get this River’s help without her letting on who she was. River couldn’t know about this face. Not before Darillium. Not this early. Not when she’d barely her diary to keep all her secrets in. Not when they both still had so much to learn. 

“Doc?”

“Right.” The three looked at her. Each one of their faces so different but all with the same look. Curiosity was such a human emotion. So raw. So undefining. Maybe that was why she kept them around. Because of the questions, they asked that the Doctor couldn’t have any hope of answers. Not that she wouldn’t try to answer every question the universe threw at her. 

But who was River Song? 

Well,

“So. I suppose you could say it started,” she folded her hands awkwardly as they sat at an uncomfortable cafeteria table. Centuries into the future and they still hadn’t learned how to make comfy lunch-time seating. “Well, I suppose it all starts with a message.”

“What was the message?”  
“The library. Come as soon as you can, kisses.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this part and are as excited as I am for the next!  
> WHY DOES THE DOCTOR NEED THIS YOUNGER RIVER! AND WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE MASTER??? OHOOHH!  
> We shall see...  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!😄😄💕


	4. Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a shorter one but I thought that the last line would be a good cliffhanger!

**Mount Cadon - Prydonian Academy - Centuries Ago**

“Have you all heard the legend of the Timeless Child?”

The boy, who would one day be known as the Doctor, commonly referred to as ‘Theta Sigma’ by his peers, raised his hand. “Sir, what does this have to do with paradox declension?”

“Only you would actually care about paradoxical declensions Thete,” his friend Koschei said from beside him. 

“Well it’s important!” He insisted.

(It was). 

“Tell us Professor!”

“Yes! Please tell us.”

The young Time-Lords would do anything to stop the discussion of how certain deteriorations could possibly destroy the universe. (All except Theta Sigma of course, whose plans to one day travel through all of space and time was the subject of many jokes between his classmates).

“All right, gather close,” the Professor told them.

All the children scooched their chairs forward and listened intently to the Professor.

“Many moons ago it was prophesied that there would be a child.”

Koschei gasped aloud, “a child!” A few kids laughed. The Professor did not. “What?” Koschei asked. “That’s going to be very funny some day.”

“Do you want to hear the story or return to your work?”

All of the students were silent.

“It was said that this child would be born, lost within time itself. When this child reaches an age in which it’s impossible to stay hidden, they will bring destruction to Gallifrey.”

Theta Sigma listened intently with wide eyes.

His classmates laughed at the man’s words. They had, of course, all heard the story of the Timeless Child. Every Time-Lord had. But that's all it was. 

A story, a fiction, a fairytale.

But then,

Why did a mere story strike such fear into the Professor’s eyes?

**Cafeteria - Luna University - Earth’s Moon - 5123**

She’d barely told them anything. 

She couldn’t.

There was so much history between them. So much back to front. So much complicated order of things. She was only able to tell them that River was her wife and she first met her in a library. She couldn’t bring herself to explain the conclusion of that meeting. Only that she had not been the version her wife had been looking for. (“My best guess is that sandshoes was in closer proximity. Spatially and chronologically.” The fam hadn’t a clue what she was talking about.)

“We kept meeting in the wrong order,” she explained. “But this version of her can’t know I’m the Doctor,” the Doctor finished.

“But I thought everyone knew you were the Doctor?” Ryan asked.

“Well, I don’t always look the same,” she explained. “All my past faces have been men.” 

“They have?” Graham asked astounded.

“Yes and,” she saw River enter. She watched as she scanned the cafeteria looking for the strange woman who had practically jumped her earlier.

The Doctor looked at her friends quickly. “Alright here’s how we’re doing this. I’m John. Yaz is Baz. Graham is Braham and Ryan is Benjamin. We need to ask her about fixed points.”

“Fixed points?” Yaz asked.

“Doc, John is a bloke’s name.”

“I think she saw us.”

“Bloke?”

“You’re not a man anymore Doc.”

She hit her head. “Um. Jack? No still a bloke’s name. Jodie?”

River had definitely seen them now and was heading towards their table.

“Jane! Okay, my name’s Jane.” She then stood and turned quickly to River who had approached them and stuck out her hand energetically. “Jane Smith pleasure to meet you. Well, again.” She wheezed inwardly in what was probably supposed to be a laugh but sounded a little bit like a dying animal. 

River was taken aback by the Doctor’s energy and she couldn’t help but smile, even though she was still very much confused. 

“I’m… Baz.” Yaz said pitifully. 

“Braham,” Graham said with much difficulty.

“Benjamin.” 

“Hmm, I had a friend once named Benjamin.”

“Oh yeah? What happened to him?”

“Nazi Germany happened to him.”

“Okay A. he wasn’t your friend it was a gun and. . .” the Doctor trailed off. “Whoops.”

A dangerous look crossed River’s face. “What are you playing at?”

“S- sorry? I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Maybe if we all just sat down”

River grabbed the lapel of the Doctor’s gray jacket and pulled her violently close. She looked deep into the Doctor’s eyes which made her feel,

Things. 

“Well, you’re not a Teselecta.” The Doctor watched her eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Who are you, and how do you know me?” 

It took all of the Doctor’s willpower to not glance down at River’s lips. They were right there. Closer than they’d been in centuries. (Had she been staring?). The Doctor was ready to risk it all for those lips. (It had been a very long time.) Just one more time just one more. There had been no one since River, and no one, the Doctor guessed for a long time after. (And they were very nice lips).

“We’re on a secret mission from the Doctor,” Yaz said calmly, spotting the Doctor’s panic. 

River released the Doctor’s lapel and raised an eyebrow. “The Doctor?”

The Doctor’s brain took a moment to rearrange itself before she whispered ‘thank you’ to Yaz.

“Yes, she-” Yaz shook her head quickly. “He said to ask you about fixed points.”

“Fixed points?” River asked. “Like in time?”

Yaz looked at the Doctor, who blinked a few times, and nodded awkwardly, before answering with a very definitive, “yes.”

River sat down and crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. “And why should I tell you anything?” She cut them off before they could bring up a sign of protest. “If you are who you say you are, which by the way, I’m still finding hard to believe. Why should I trust you?”

Four pairs of eyes turned to the Doctor. She hadn’t really thought this far. To be completely honest she thought she’d just have to name drop the Doctor and River would trust them. Trust her to be more cautious around strangers. The Doctor’s brain was buzzing, her hearts were beating. She could deal with aliens or monsters any day but she came undone under the scrutinizing appraisal.

How, how, how could she possibly do this without breaking any significant laws of time?

The Doctor very slowly sat beside River. 

And then, without any warning, she kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MUHUAHUAHUA!!!!  
> I love the Doctor’s !!!! Panic because to be fair I think all River stans would panic too!  
> Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me so far! There’s definitely more to come!!


	5. Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent the weekend not only working on this part but the next. I don't know what my posting schedule will be because school finals and such are picking up for the end of this semester but don't worry I'm not dropping this! I just watched Orphan 55 tonight with one of my best friends and I'm glad it wasn't Master arc heavy so I didn't feel like I needed to change anything! 
> 
> I was going to post this part along with the next one together but I wanted to finish the next next part first in case I needed to change anything beforehand but the next part is finished and will be posted soon!!

**The Vault - Beneath St. Luke's University - May 6th, 2017**

Tchaikovsky wafted through the air as the Doctor opened the heavy door to the vault below his office and affectionately called out “Missy!”

She stopped her playing and glared at him. “Do you have what I asked for?”

The Doctor closed the door and walked over to her little platform. “I didn’t have it. I had to borrow it from Bill, which was very embarrassing.”

Missy stood and slowly walked to the edge of her platform but didn’t step down from it. She liked being taller than the Doctor. Especially in this incarnation. “Is that the plot device or the bald fat one?” she asked.

The Doctor gave her a look, before turning to the flatscreen she had asked for a few weeks before. “She’s not a plot device. She’s my friend.”

“So you say,” she said finally stepping down from the platform and lounging on the leather sofa, that one she had made the Doctor build into the wall one sweaty afternoon (not the one she accidentally shrunk), she asked, “still blind then?”

“What sort of question is that? Still, blind then?” The Doctor asked. “I suppose you think that’s very funny.” He paused before he put the movie in the blu-ray. “Is that why you wanted to watch a movie?”

“Not at all. I’m a murderess. I’m not rude.”

\---

_Everyone's a bit of a fixer-upper, that's what it's all about!_

“What’s happening now?”

Missy’s plan had definitely backfired. Instead of torturing the Doctor with the squeaky voices and constant singing, she had instead subjected herself to an hour and forty-nine minutes of the Doctor asking every three seconds what was happening on the screen. 

“The rocks are trying to set up Anna and Kristoff,” she told him. She watched the Doctor reach for the popcorn bowl. The best thing about the Doctor being blind was watching him fish for the bowl. And being able to slowly pull it out of his reach. 

_Father! Sister! Brother! We need each other to raise us up and round us out._

“And now?”

“Shhhhhh, it’s just getting good.”

“Why do they keep singing?”

“It’s a musical Doctor, hush.”

“At least tell me what’s happening now?”

Missy sighed, “Now Anna and Kristoff are getting married.”

“What!”

“I’m kidding, calm down, you stupid man.” She shifted. “I know you’re blind but haven’t you seen Frozen before?”

“Of course I have. I just don’t remember much.” He grinned in Missy’s general direction.

She made a noise of disgust and threw a pillow at his face which he didn’t intercept so it hit him square in the face (re: pros of blindness). “If you’re making a reference to the serendipitous love life you had on Darillium.”

The Doctor only chuckled softly with a melancholic smile.

The trolls were just entering their mind-numbing repetition of “true true true, love” when Missy groaned. “This is tedious,” she complained and clicked the pause button on the remote. 

“I thought you wanted to watch it?”

“Not when you’re moping like a sad giraffe,” She stood up and stretched her side. She looked at the Doctor, he wasn’t wearing his dumb sunglasses so he definitely couldn’t have seen what was on the screen.

She wondered. . .

“What do you see?”

“Nothing.”

She stood in front of him, “rule one doesn’t work on me Thete.”

“Don't push me Missy, I’m not in the mood.”

“Come on. I’m dying to know.”

“I’ll hit you with my shoe.”

“No, you won’t.”

The Doctor sighed, “I see everything.”

“Do you now?” Missy asked, suddenly genuinely interested.

“I see my granddaughter lying on the TARDIS floor laughing about inconsistencies in her textbook, I see Rory Williams promising to protect his wife for 2000 years. I see Romana wearing the hat and scarf of my fourth incarnation telling me that her arms were too long.” 

His hand gripped the side of the couch, it was trembling. Missy wondered if she should take it. Support him with what he saw.

“You want to know what I see, Missy?” he said with a new kind of malice. “I see my wife’s body turning to atoms right before my eyes. Before I even knew her. I see the look Rose Tyler gave me after I regenerated. She told me to bring him back, to bring her Doctor back. I see Donna Noble on the phone with her friend, without a clue who I was.” Missy hovered her hand lightly over his but didn’t touch it. He inhaled and exhaled defeatedly. “I used to close my eyes and see them. Be reminded of all I gained, but also all that I had lost. And I always had the option to open them again and continue on for them. But now? Now all I ever do is see them.”

Missy knew that if this had been any other version of herself she would kill the Doctor. Right now in his most vulnerable state. She could finally be done with him. She had stored so many weapons around her vault for this type of moment exactly. He was blinded, physically and emotionally. It would have been perfect.

But she couldn’t do it.

She felt something strange in her hearts. Something heavy and like nothing she had felt before. 

Was this, pity?

No.

Sympathy?

Disgusting. 

She had, after all a reputation to uphold. 

So she forced herself to roll her eyes and say, “I thought you came here so I could watch frozen not your pity party.” She had to pretend that the Doctor hadn’t just poured out his soul to her. Or else she didn’t know what would happen.

His grip on the couch had lessened, that was good at least.

“You asked.”

She crossed her arms. “I wanted to know the answer.”

“And now you do. Are you satisfied? I am so old and have lost so much. What else could I have possibly seen but my best and worst?”

“Oh, don’t be so pretentious.” She watched the Doctor straighten and reach for the remote to turn back on the insufferable singing. She grabbed it before he could. “Would you undo it?”

“No,” he said confidently. “Not one moment.”

“Would you fix it?”

I don’t know, Missy, are we going to finish the movie or not?”

He forgot again, that rule one didn’t work on her. And even though he couldn’t see her face, she could see his, and read every look. This got Missy thinking. Thinking about something that she would think about for a very, very long time.

But she didn’t let him see that. Instead, she placed the remote out of reach, laid down back on the couch and said, “Tell me a story, Doctor.” She settled her head on his lap and kicked off her shoes. “But if it involves any kissing I think I might throw up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And breathe! I certainly had a couple of emotions writing this part so I hope you enjoyed it! The next part is also very !!!!! emotions so I hope you enjoy that too!!  
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated!!  
> <3  
> (Side Note: I lowkey transposed the Master's little message to the Doctor incorrectly and only caught it now when a friend pointed it out to me. It's in Part 1 and has been fixed!)


	6. Part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update sooner! It was my birthday yesterday! 18 babeyyyy!!!

**Cafeteria - Luna University - Earth’s Moon - 5123**

“You killed her!” Graham exclaimed. 

While it may have looked like River Song had died after the Doctor had kissed her, with the closed eyes and lulled head, she hadn’t in fact murdered her wife. 

“Doctor, care to tell us what you just did?” Yaz asked, blushing a little. 

“Well, sometimes, not often mind you, I can give someone a good headbutt and transfer memories of general background information of who I am to them. Easier than taking the time to explain it all.” 

“Alright and the kissing-”

“I need to talk to this River, but I need her to be conscious of our relationship and for her to trust me. So I’m granting an older version of herself access to this body so she can root through this River’s memories to find what I need.” The fam all looked at her, confused. “She’ll be fine. It’s kinda like possession. Just give her a moment for it to kick in,” she explained.

“Doc, but what about all that you said about her not being able to know who you are?”

The Doctor nodded. “I know, I know. But I really didn’t see any other way to get her to trust us. This way she’ll have access to both sets of memories. I’ll have to wipe her mind of meeting this face of course. Otherwise she’ll know things that she really isn’t allowed to know.” The Doctor explained, thinking back to Mendorax Dellora and how River didn’t know she could regenerate past her eleventh face. It was crucial things stayed that way.

The Doctor and fam watched as River slowly blinked. Her eyes were glazed over as if she was staring at lines of code. It was almost frightening. Then, almost robotically, she said, “this is the worst hangover I think I’ve ever had and I challenged Jack Harkness to a drinking contest once. Let me tell you, that man can hold his liquor.” Her head lulled again.

“Doc, I think you broke her.”

The Doctor scoffed offhandedly. “I’m working on it Graham. To be fair, I haven’t ever done this before.” The Doctor realized something and then promptly hit herself in the head. “Oh of course! This body is trying to gain access to the data core but there are digital firewalls in the way. Flesh body meeting binary coding. No wonder it’s not coupling correctly.”

The Doctor fished her sonic out of her pocket pointed it at River’s head. “If I can bypass the firewalls, or even better link them all together to open a path.”

“Doctor isn’t that a little-” Yaz started looking for the right word.

‘Inhumane,” Ryan finished. 

The Doctor stopped. “Don’t you think if I had any other choice I would,” she accused. They didn’t understand. They couldn't. The Doctor tried not to blame them. Especially since they had only just learnt part of the story. “This is the only River I can easily disappear from. She told me once that so many of her memories from university were erased because of these creatures called the Silence. Among more important memories she won’t even remember that she’s forgotten this one”

“Why not just ask a version of her you didn’t have to erase yourself from?” Graham asked as if it was the most simplest thing in the world.

And it was, the Doctor supposed.

And it wasn’t

“I can’t,” she said and offered no other explanation on that note. She didn’t look at the fam, just fiddled with a setting on her sonic. 

“You said she’d died,” Yaz said softly. 

“She did. Did you notice I never told you how?” 

The Doctor was trying her best to just get the job done. To not let her emotions cloud her vision. She sent another burst of sonic energy towards River. The fam was silent. 

“Doctor-” 

“It’s my fault she’s in her current state,” she retorted. “It’s always been my fault. I thought I could put it behind me but I can’t. I need her. And, not only to ask about fixed points because I need her for that too but, but I _need_ her. And I know I can’t. And I’ve known ever since I met her. And it shouldn’t kill me.” She finally looked at up her fam. Yaz noticed that ancient look in the Doctor’s eyes again. The look of someone who had suffered incalculable loss, the look of desperation. “But it does.”

The Doctor felt two arms envelop her. She was pulled into a familiar embrace.

And then a whisper, quiet enough so that Yaz, Graham and Ryan couldn’t hear. 

Two words, just for her.

“Hello, Sweetie.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUNDUNDUNNNN I love leaving these on cliffhangers! It's as much for me as for you! Hope you enjoyed this part! And as always, kudos and comments are appreciated!


	7. Part VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Long time no update! Finals KILLED ME!!! But I finally have another chapter up! (And another cliffhanger hehe whoops)! Hope you enjoy this next part!

**Cafeteria - Luna University - Earth's Moon - 5123**

The Doctor accidentally let out a cross between a laugh of relief, and a sob. She wrapped her arms around he wife and held her as though she would disappear if she let go. It was a little awkward since they were both sitting beside each other but the Doctor didn’t care. River’s hair smelt like old books and artron energy. Her curls tickled the Doctor’s nose but that only made her hug her tighter. “Hello darling,” the Doctor finally whispered back. The two disentangled each other after a long moment but the Doctor kept on holding her wife’s hand. 

“Sorry I don’t think we’ve met,” River said to the fam. “Or maybe we have. Sorry two sets of memories, takes some getting used to,” she said rubbing her head. “Doctor what mess have you pulled me into now.”

“You love it.”

River smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

And the Doctor felt her hearts break because she knew she couldn’t let either River remember this. The younger because it would screw up their time streams. The older probably wouldn’t remember it either. Mind wipes flooded out memories like a dam being set loose. If the data ghost of River wasn’t back safe behind her firewalls before the time was up, she might get the second hand effects of the mind wipe.

The Doctor didn’t know if she wanted River to have this memory or not. The only other time she had talked to River’s data ghost she had given her an ending, a goodbye.

The Doctor didn’t know if she could say goodbye again. 

“Right! River, this is Yaz, Graham and Ryan. They travel with me.”

“Fam, this is my wife. Professor River Song.”

“I see. It’s nice to meet you all,” River examined them each shamelessly. “How is it that you always have great looking friends sweetie?”

“Luck?”

“Hmmm. You don’t believe in luck.”

“Well maybe, I do now,” she said giving her wife’s hand a squeeze.

“Well see now I know you’re lying. So. Out with it. I know this isn’t a social call. You, don’t really do those.”

“I need to know what you know about fixed points.”

“Well, they’re moments in the space-time continuum in which events are set in stone and can never, ever be changed, no matter what-”

“Yes, I know the textbook definition but what do  _ you _ know about fixed points?”

“Well em, when I was younger I tried to alter one. But the memory is a little shifty.” She turned to the fam, “it happened four different ways.”

“Yes, YES! Lake Silencio. You told me something. You told me that fixed points can be altered.”

“Did I? My brain feels a bit fuzzy.”

“That’s the firewalls being put back up. But River I need to know if the university you knows anything about fixed points.”

River closed her eyes and concentrated. The four leaned towards her, in silent anticipation. 

“I’m sorry Sweetie, I can’t” she said slowly. “It’s too far back. I can’t. I can’t see anything. I-”

“Hey hey it’s okay. Travelling through memories can be painful, are you okay.”

“I’m fine. It’s just out of reach.”

“River, open your eyes. ”

“No.” 

“River?”

“None. none of it.”

“River what are you talking about?”

“Professor,” Yaz said slowly. Not exactly sure if she was helping or not. “What are you seeing.”

The Doctor looked at Yaz. Eyes full of fear. 

“Nothing I’m fine, really.” She licked her lips in concentration than said, “The lake. I can barely breathe. And him.”

“Who’s there?”

“Doctor,” she whispered putting her head on the table. 

“This Doctor?”

“No,” her voice was muffled but Yaz, who was sitting beside the Professor, could hear her just fIne. “No a different one. It’s dark. So dark. Everything is dark and cold.”

“Have you been here before?”

“I’m fine.” 

“Answer the question Professor.”

“Yaz talk to me,” the Doctor pleaded.

“Yes, I have,” River sat up, her eyes glazed over a little. 

“When?” Yaz asked. 

“In my dreams.”

“And?”

“On the day I killed him,” she shook her head.

“Yaz?”

“Doctor I think going through her younger self’s memories has triggered some sort of Post-Traumatic flashback,” Yaz told her. “It’s happened to one of my best mates at the police academy.” Yaz took the hand that the Doctor wasn’t holding. 

“No, I’m fine. I’m-”

“What are you feeling Professor.”

“I want it to stop. I don’t want to kill him.”

The Doctor squeezed her wife’s hand. “I’m here,” she whispered. 

“The Doctor is safe. The Doctor is, right beside you. We’re all here for you,” Yaz said. 

The Doctor looked at her sonic. “The firewalls are starting to reformat themselves. Yaz, I can’t let her go back like this.”

“Pen. Paper.”

“What?” 

“I need a,” she gestured with her hand which had come free from Yaz’s. “Pen and a paper.”

“River you’re more important than finding this memory.”

“No,” she made a fist, fingernails digging into flesh. “No you need me. And I can almost reach it.”

“Here,” Ryan fished through his backpack and pulled out an old notebook and half-chewed pencil. “Will this do.”

River took the pencil and scribbled something down. 

“What’s she writing?” Ryan asked. 

“I think, in order to figure what the Doctor needs to know,” Yaz started. “She has to relive the memory as though she was there.” Yaz looked at the Doctor. “She said you were there.”

The Doctor nodded as River dropped the pencil. “Lake Silencio.”

“It must be a difficult memory.”

“It is.”

The Doctor looked quickly at what her wife had written. Then back to her. “Are you sure?”

River nodded. Once, quickly. The second time slower, as if she was coming out of a trance of sorts. “Doctor?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“How much time have I got?”

“Not long.”

“Then, I love you.”

The Doctor smiled looking down at their clasped hands, “River Song I-”

But when she looked back up, River’s eyes were closed. 

“No,” she whispered eyes widening. “No, no, no come back.” River’s body crumpled against her own. “River just for a moment come back please.” She held up River’s head and placed her forehead against her wife’s. Yaz, Ryan and Graham watched as the Doctor whispered something in her ear. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on the sides of her wife’s head and closed her eyes. 

When she opened them she looked towards the fam. “The firewalls are back in place and she won’t remember us.”

“Which one?” Yaz asked softly.

“Both of them.”

“What you do that for?”

“I couldn’t have this be her last memory of me. The last time she saw me. That was a better goodbye anyway.”

“And you?”

“Me?”

“What about your goodbye.”

“We should probably get her back to her dorm. It’d be strange if she just woke up in the cafeteria. Ryan would you mind?”

“Oh yeah.”

The Doctor stood with one of River’s arms looped around her shoulders. Ryan, walked around the table to take the other. 

“What did she write?” Graham asked Yaz. Yaz stood and picked up Ryan’s notebook. “Let’s see. Fixed points can be rewritten question mark. Then, classmate dissertation and then in brackets Ramone Lucks,” she read. “And then a set of numbers.”

“Space-time coordinates.” Then the Doctor stiffened. “Sorry. Did you say Ramone Lucks?”

“Do you know him Doc?” Graham asked.

“Unfortunately,” came the Doctor’s sour response. 

“That’s awfully convenient,” Ryan murmured. 

“Yeah. Too convenient.”

—-

The fam gave the Doctor a moment alone to tuck River into her bed . They heard whispering but heard no specifics. When the Doctor came out of the room she looked heartbroken. 

Yaz couldn’t help it. She didn’t know if this was what the Doctor wanted but if she didn’t look like she needed it...

She gave the Doctor a hug who sunk into it. It had after all been a long day. Ryan joined the hug and Graham soon followed. 

“Thank you,” the Doctor whispered.

“You aren’t alone Doc,” Graham told her.

“You’ve got us,” Ryan agreed.

“My gang. My fam,” she nodded affectionately. She then clapped her hands, very sudden-like. “But we aren’t done yet. We have to find Ramone. I need to read his dissertation.”

“But he probably hasn’t written it yet,” Ryan reminded.

“That’s fine. We’ll just find an older version. Luckily. I know just where to look.” She turned to walk down the hall towards the entrance. Hoping to get back to the TARDIS quickly.

“Doctor,” Yaz said. “You know we trust you but would you mind telling us already why you need to know if fixed points can be broken.”

“The Master,” the Doctor said. “He left me a message after the whole Kazaavin incident.”

“We know,” Ryan said softly. “We accidentally heard it.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, when you were listening to it later. We were probably should’ve been sleeping,” Graham told her.

“I think he winked at me,” Yaz murmured. 

She  _ had _ listened to the message an absurd amount of times. But she had to let it sink in. At least enough so that she didn’t get emotional about it once she figured out the next piece of the puzzle. 

“Doctor when I said that stuff about visiting your planet I never meant-” Yaz started.

“No, it’s fine,” the Doctor said. “You didn’t know.”

“We’re all very sorry,” Yaz said. “We just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“No, I’m glad I don’t have to explain all it to you. But there was a bit of a clue in the Master’s message.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well after watching it a few times I realized something strange.”

“What was it?”

The Doctor opened her mouth. And then closed it. She scrunched her nose. “I think it’d just be easier to show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is a canon divergence fic I won't be dealing with anything that happens in Fugitive of the Judoon or anything (BUT HOLY HELL THAT WAS A GOOD EPISODE) But I was thinking about writing another theory fic after this one is done about T h e p e r s o n...  
> As always! Kudos and Comments are appreciated!


	8. Part VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what my posting schedule for this is but I figured you had that cliffhanger for long enough! Hope you enjoy!

**The Tardis - Earth's Moon - 5123**

The Doctor and her fam entered the TARDIS and the Doctor immediately dashed to the console. 

As Graham closed the door, he asked, “Hey Doc, have you ever done a mind wipe on any of us?”

The Doctor considered this for a moment. “I think once. Only on Ryan though.” She looked at him. “Sorry,” and then turned back to the console. 

“What? Why? What did I do?”

She placed her hands on her hips in a very ‘duh’ manner. “Well if I told you it would defeat the purpose of a mind wipe.”

Yaz covered her mouth to suppress a laugh at Ryan’s face as he watched the Doctor with a newfound sense of betrayal. She let her thoughts wander to how it would feel to lose one’s memories. The Doctor had said that most of Professor Song’s memories from the university had been erased because of… what was it? The Silence. Yaz couldn’t imagine such a huge gap in time just being gone, just like that. How did one even cope when you didn’t even know yourself? 

“Well no more,” Ryan said. “Just promise you won’t do that again.”

The Doctor put her hands up in mock surrender, “don’t get mad at me, you asked for it!”

“I did?!”

As the Doctor brought her hands back down she pressed a button on the console. It brought up the Master’s holographic message. She clicked another, and it started.

“If you’re seeing this, you’ve been to Gallifrey-“

“Might just skip this part.”

She held down a lever on the console and the hologram moved as though on fast forward. 

“-lie of the timeless child. Do you see it?” His baritone made Yaz shiver. “It’s buried deep in all our memories, in our identity.” he turned, seeming to stare straight at the Doctor. “I’d tell you more. But why would I make it easy for you? He paused, “It wasn’t for me.”

She winded it back.

“-in our identity”

She paused the hologram and looked at the fam expectantly. “Do you see it?” 

“See, what exactly?” Ryan asked. 

“Right okay so,” the Doctor hopped up a step to the platform the hologram was cast onto. “Watch here,” she pointed at the center of the Master’s eye. 

She then jumped down and pressed the rewind button again.

“-in our identity”

The fam were all squinting at the eye. 

“I mean it kinda caught the light for a second,” Yaz said

“YES!” The Doctor exclaimed. “10 points to Yasmin Khan!” She added, kissing the top of her head as she ran past back towards the hologram. 

(Yaz touched the spot where the Doctor’s lips had been, and then subtly brought her hand down as the three turned to watch the Doctor.)

“Now sometimes, when people die the last image they see is retained in the retina.”

“That can’t be true,” Graham said.

“It is! A lizard lady from the beginning of time told me!” The Doctor explained and Graham thought she  _ had _ to know how unrealistic that sounded. “Anyway,” she continued. “I was thinking about reflections in the eye.”

“I thought we were talking about lizards?” Ryan asked confused. 

“And the light reflecting off the eye.”

“What does the lizard lady have to do with this?” Yaz asked.

“Well once she saw my face on this dead man’s retina, my point is-”

“Why were you on a dead guy’s retina?” Ryan exclaimed very confusedly.

“This is all just a roundabout way of saying that when the light flashed past his eye I wondered if it illuminated the part of the retina that takes a snapshot of memory as someone dies.”

“But you’re Time-Lords I thought? Why would you have human eyes?”

“We don’t have human eyes,” the Doctor sighed exasperatedly. “You have Time-Lord eyes.”

“Doc, the reflection?” Graham asked.

“Right! Yes, so I zoomed in and I could see the reflection of the object in front of him!” The Doctor dashed back to the console and zoomed in on the Master’s eyes. She pressed a few more buttons and a higher resolution image appeared.

“So if I do this, you might want to cover your eyes for a second,” she warned as she pulled a lever that promptly made the hologram implode with light for half a second, (Ryan could feel the heat on her eyelids as he brought his hand up as well). 

When they all opened their eyes a zoomed-in reflection of the Master’s eye was projected in front of them

Centred was a stack of paper 

The three humans squinted. Then Ryan’s eyes widened, “wait but that says-“

The Doctor nodded, “Luna University. Time-stamped for 5123.”

“So that’s why you asked the Professor about fixed points?” Yaz asked. “Cause the reflection in the eye of the hologram your enemy sent to taunt you contained a paper on the very subject?”

“How many times did you watch that video?” Ryan asked rhetorically.

“The Master is smart,” the Doctor said. “Smarter than most of my adversaries. He wouldn’t just- It just wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t a clue.”

“And Ramone Lucks?” Graham asked, remember the scribble River had written.

“Ramone Lucks,” the Doctor repeated pulling the paper River had scribbled on from her pocket. She hadn’t noticed at first glance but River had drawn a little stick figure of herself with a heart near it. The Doctor knew that little self-portrait wouldn’t be leaving her pocket anytime soon. She turned the hologram off. “I knew he went to school with River but not much past that. Whenever I asked the conversations usually steered towards. . .” the Doctor trailed off. “The point is if we looked for Ramone in this time period he would probably turn tail and run.” The Doctor sighed and sat down on one of the steps. “Unfortunately, I know just where to find him.”

**Boy's Dorms - Luna University - Earth's Moon - 5123**

“RAMONEEEEEEEE,” River knocked excessively on the door. 

The door opened to a very disgruntled Ramone, “Riv? It’s 3 a.m. What are you doing here?” Ramone had dark circles under his eyes and a kind of dazed-ness that only came with the university lifestyle. He hadn’t slept in many nights trying to start writing his paper. He had actually fallen asleep at his desk, pen in hand. 

And now the woman of his dreams was standing at his door and he could barely keep his eyes open to appreciate it.

River walked right in, never needing permission. She took a seat at his desk and rubbed her eyes.

“Rough night?” he asked. He refilled his portable kettle with one of the water bottles he kept under his bed because it was colder and asked, “tea?”

“Nine sugars please.”

“Nine?” Ramone asked surprised.

“I have the worst headache.”

“I’m not sure nine sugars is going to help that.” 

“Finished your outline yet?” River asked as Ramone handed her a mug, (with only three sugars, River could tell). 

Ramone stiffened, “haven’t even started.”

“You know it’s due this weekend.”

Ramone took a long sip of his tea and made a face. He then took River’s mug and gave her his. She took a sip, (ah yes. There was the other six). “You don’t think I know that?” he asked.

“Well you look rubbish,” River murmured.

“Feel even worse,” he retorted. “But you didn’t come to my room at three am to tell me that I hope.”

“I had a strange dream,” she said slowly.

Ramone’s face fell, “another one?” She nodded. “What was it this time?” he asked. 

“Well, I can hardly remember,” she rubbed her temple. “There was a woman.”

“A woman?”

“Yes! She was very beautiful. Intensely so. In fact, beautiful seems too small a word. She was ravishing! Small, but lithe with these great-”

“Riv-”

“Eyes! She had these piercing eyes, as though she could see into my soul.”

“And what else?”

“That’s all I can remember.”

“You woke me up to tell me about a dream you had about a hot babe with scary eyes?”

“It wasn’t a dream!” she insisted. “It’s like, I don’t know. It’s like those times that I missed class but insist I don’t remember.”

“But you did miss class.”

River shook her head, “no I didn’t. It’s like, I can’t remember what happened.”

“Because you weren’t there.”

“Oh hush.” She finished her tea and put the mug on Ramone’s table taking a quick stock on the notes he had. 

“ Temporal Nexuses?” she asked.

Ramone stood to see what she was looking at, “oh yeah. It was something I’m looking into. You know , temporal theory. Probability waveforms.”

River looked lost. She, after all, was studying archaeology. Not physical theory.

“Well, it’s theorized that meddlers in time, you know like the time agency, the teselecta, your doctor- could be stuck indefinitely in a paradox in fixed time, but some cases show that history could safely resume as it had before, as long as another trigger, one sufficiently similar to the first, could have the same effect,” he tried explaining. 

“But isn’t the point of a fixed point is that it cannot be changed?” River asked.

‘Yes but see, even the smallest could start unravelling the fabric of time, you know the butterfly effect right?”

River nodded.

“But given the right circumstances, time, theoretically, could knit itself back together again, until that change might never have occurred.”

“until that change might never have occurred.” 

Ramone’s voice sounded smaller on the tiny recording device River pulled from her pocket saying, “and there’s your thesis.”

“Are you sure?” He asked. “It’s all theory, I can’t prove any of it.

“Some of the best scientific discoveries have been based on wild theories. Besides,” she paused for dramatic effect. “I have a feeling your work is going to be very important one day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an inside joke with my friends that I may not like Ramone that much but I felt like he deserved so much more than only a vague implication of being marred to River and that's all!  
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated and hopefully, it won't take this long to post the next part!


	9. Part IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a shorter wait this time! I like writing ahead of what I post so I wrote a lot in the past few days and boy do we have a bit of an intense line-up! This one's a bit shorter but there is a big one coming up and still lots to come so consider this the calm before the storm! I hope you enjoy

**Darillium - Year 4**

“Sweetie?”

“Yes Darling?” the Doctor asked.

River was leaning against the doorway to their room and waited a minute for the Doctor to put down his book and remove his glasses. 

“What is it?” He asked once he realized she hadn’t moved. He had some blankets strewn about. And as River sat on the edge of the bed he wrapped her in her favorite one and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Well,” she started. “I was thinking about, well I’ve been thinking about it for a while, a few years, well more than a few, obviously. I supposed most women think of it some time or another. And, well, I don’t even know if I could. Or if you could or if we were even compatible like that. But I was thinking since we have all these years to be together, and of course, we don’t have to but-“

“River,” the Doctor interrupted. “Yes.”

“Yes?” she echoed, eyes immediately watering. “ I didn’t even ask the-“

“You didn’t need to.” The Doctor smiled as he wiped the tears that threatened to stain his wife’s face. “My answer is always ‘yes’.”

**The TARDIS - Deep Space**

“So where are we going now?” Yaz asked.

The Doctor was half-heartedly doing her dance around the console. Pulling levers, flipping and un-flipping switches.

Somehow she knew it would come to this. As soon as she glanced at Ramone’s name in River’s perfect handwriting she felt her hearts sink, knowing it meant she would probably have to return to the place that gave her so much joy and yet haunted her dreams. 

She wished it wasn’t as simple as it was turning out to be. She wished there was another problem they had to solve. She was good at solving problems, for the most part. But when it came to problems of the heart she was at a loss. She wished she had cared enough to find out Ramone’s fate after-. Well, after. But a darkness had shrouded her. Drowned her once those 24 years were up. She could still hear the chilling song of the towers whenever she closed her eyes. 

Of all the dark days that the Doctor had lived, the worst was the day she had to say goodbye to her wife, knowing she would never see her alive again. The hardest part wasn’t saying goodbye though, the hardest part was knowing she would have to learn to live without her. Before, when she wore her 11th face, well, he took for granted everything he didn’t know about his wife. Once he knew everything, time seemed to speed up. 

Soon enough his first kiss became hers

And now the Doctor couldn’t do anything but remember every moment. 

She was selfish when it came to River, always had been. Perhaps it was because she was and remained one of the greatest mysteries in the Doctor’s life. Perhaps it was because she used to be able to tell her wife everything. Perhaps it was because no matter what, no matter how bad things got, he always knew he could break her out of Stormcage and be with her. Just be held by her. And loved by her.

And then maybe things would be okay for a while. 

She kept a photo of her River in her pocket. Maybe two of her pockets if she really looked. She no longer had somewhere as convenient as a desk for a photo that she would see every day. She could keep it on the console but that would bring back too many memories of her in the console room and the Doctor didn’t think she could handle _that_ constant reminder. 

She remembered Bill asked her once if pictures really helped if someone was gone.

It only took one crackle of the fireplace for that incarnation to know his answer. And even less time for this one to know her answer.

And there was only one place the universe that could grate the Doctor in this way. One place that could stir up all these memories

“Darillium,” she told Yaz. “we’re going to a planet called Darillium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUNDUNDUN! The fam is going to Darillium?! Whaaaa-  
> What sort of hijinks could come of this?  
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated as I love hearing your feedback!  
> Until next time~


	10. Part X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry it's another small one but WHOOO the neXT ONE WILL HOPEFULLY ANSWER SOME BIG QUESTIONS!!!  
> I hope you enjoy!

**The Androvar - Darillium**

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid the next available reservation won’t be for three years.”

“No,” the Doctor groaned impatiently. “We don’t want a reservation. We just want to talk to one of your servers. Ramone Lucks. Big red robot body?” The Doctor stood on her tippy toes to indicate the size. “You can’t miss him.”

The lady looked at her and then back at her clipboard then back at the Doctor. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid the next available reservation won’t be for another three years.”

The Doctor rolled her eyes, “oh, well. Fat lotta good you are.” 

“Sorry were you looking for me?”

The Doctor turned to, conveniently, the exact man she was looking for. With his pesky and rakish dark eyes. Ramone Lucks was everything the Doctor wasn’t. Maybe that’s why she felt so inferior around him. Tall, young, living a life unburdened by the stresses that came with multiple counts of saving the universe. River had of course chosen the Doctor but there was still some sort of competitive nature that still resided in the time lord.

Even if it was mostly one-sided. 

And he did, unfortunately reside in a giant robot body with Nardole which was probably hell in itself. The Doctor recalled a time that he had to share a ration pack with Nardole. She couldn’t imagine sharing anything else. 

“It’s alright Bella,” he said to the hostess. “I just got off my shift.” He crooked an eyebrow, “do I know you?”

The Doctor squinted at a bead of sweat that dribbled down his forehead as she made eye contact with him.

“Why are you nervous?” The Doctor asked, leaning in a little. 

“I’m not nervous,” he said too quickly to be true.

“Are you sure about that?”

He gulped.

The Doctor fished out her psychic paper from one of her pockets and showed it to Ramone. Some sort of look flashed across his face as she said, “Professor Smith 5117?” He asked.

“Yes,” the Doctor replied feigning confidence. “I read your paper on Temporal Nexuses. Marvelous work and I was wondering if I could have a chat.”

“You don’t look like a Professor.”

“And you don’t look like an idiot robot yet here we still are.”

There was something strange about Ramone. Something she hadn’t noticed before. He bore a strong resemblance to somebody but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it, and as soon as it came to her it disappeared like a trail of smoke. 

“What do you want then?” He asked.

“Just to ask you some questions regarding eh,” the Doctor fumbled. “Regarding page thirteen.”

“Page thirteen?”

“Yeah, lovely number isn’t it?”

“Well, there’s a cafe across the street.”

“Glisten, I’m familiar.” He gave her a curious look. “I mean,” she stammered. “Sort of?”

“I can meet you there after I change.” 

“Change?”

“Well yeah. See I share this body with a bloke called Nardole,” he explained.

“You what?” Yaz asked. She cursed herself for getting distracted by Ramone’s charming smile and puppy-dog eyes that she hadn’t really been paying attention to what the Doctor had been saying. The Doctor had wanted to deal with this alone. She had made Ryan and Graham stay on the TARDIS after all. But Yaz insisted. And now she was barely paying attention.

“Yeah we got a friend to make us another body so we don’t have to share all the time,” Ramone explained. “I don’t mind this body much. When the other one is done I might ask to keep this one.”

“Nice sort of friend then?”

“Yeah, a Doctor that lives in a little cottage down the hill.”

Yaz fought the urge to look at said Doctor and instead said, “that’s nice.” 

“Yes it’s all perfect. Sounds lovely. Glisten in an hour?”

“It’s a date!” Ramone smiled.

Yaz blushed.

The Doctor gagged.

Ramone turned to a back room and once he was out of sight the Doctor immediately beelined for the TARDIS. Which was snuggly fit in a room that was the perfect dimensions for the police box.

“Is there a reason the TARDIS fits so well here?” Yaz asked as the Doctor opened the door.

“Yes,” she replied softly, offering no other explanation as the orange light from inside the box cast its glow on the pair.

**The TARDIS - In Flight**

“Well, hopefully something to eat will get you out of your mardy mood,” Yaz mumbled closing the door behind her.

“My mood’s fine,” the Doctor replied from the top of the stairs.

Yaz gave Ryan, who had just rounded the corner, a look.

The Doctor removed her jacket and hung on a railing, then turned swiftly to the console. 

“How’d it go then?” Graham asked stepping onto the platform.

“Fine.” 

“Doctor?” Yaz asked. “You don’t particularly like Ramone do you?”

“What makes you say that,” she replied defensively. 

“Well you called did call him an idiot robot,” Yaz recalled.

“I was surprised you noticed that considering your ogling.”

“That’s not fair,” Ryan started in Yaz’s defense.

“No, no it’s fine she’s right. I said I would be there for you and I wasn’t. I’m sorry.  
“Let’s just get to the bottom of this,” the Doctor murmured. “Why was the Master reading Ramone’s paper when he recorded that message? Why did he destroy Gallifrey and what does any of this have to do with the Timeless Child?”

“Those are some pretty big questions Doc, are you sure this Ramone fellow has the answers you’re looking for?”

“I don’t know,” the Doctor admitted. “Maybe he’ll only add to my never-ending list. But that’s a risk I have to take.”

The TARDIS brakes sounded. The fam all looked at the Doctor who was leaning against the console with crossed arms, looking at them expectantly.

“Is that Glisten then?” Yaz asked cautiously.

“No.”

“Where is it?” Ryan asked.

“Sheffield.”

Realization hit each one of her companions like a bag of bricks.

“Doc?”

“What?”

“No Doctor you need us!”

“I don’t _need_ anyone. This is something I have to do on my own.”

“But you don’t have to,” Ryan replied, concern painted across his features.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Is this because of the Master?” Graham asked. “Because we might not know your history like him but we do know you.”

“Or is it something more personal?” Yaz asked softly. 

The Doctor winced, and Yaz got her answer.

“Okay guys. Let’s leave the Doctor to do her work. She’ll be back soon, right?”

“Always am,” the Doctor whispered, quiet enough for only Yaz to catch. She made eye contact with the Doctor and nodded, in solidarity, a promise.

The Doctor would come back for them. She always did.

She always came back.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUNNN  
> It's never good when the Doc needs to do something by themself. You may be asking how Ramone fits into this puzzle, well.. We shall see!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! I love hearing from y'all so much!


	11. Part XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of the longest updates yet! And probably one of my favorite chapters! I won't say anything other than the game is about to change!
> 
> (Also Ascension of the Cybermen had me quaking!)

**Darillium - Year 20**

He heard a faint weeping sound from the bathroom. He gingerly knocked on the door and heard a quiet “come in,” from the other side.

She was sitting on the floor. Her curls blocking her eyes but her cheeks were tinged pink. She was gripping something so tightly her hands shook 

She had been crying again. 

He knelt beside her and pulled her onto his lap. Holding her like a wounded animal as she let out sobs of resent. He stroked her hair and rested his head on the top of hers. Smelling the lavender of her shampoo and residual artron energy that came from being a child of the TARDIS.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Hey, hey everything is going to be okay.”

She whispered his name. His real name. He loved that only she could call him that.He loved the way she said it. The way the mouth formed the curls of the language. When she spoke his name like that. In a small room, on a small planet in a small corner of the universe he felt like at last he was home. Like he could breathe. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

His hearts skipped a beat. 

**Glisten - Darillium**

She sat in the furthest booth from the door. She wanted to have plenty of time to see when Ramone walked in. She slipped her jacket off and hung it on a little hanger attached to the booth. Then fidgeted in her seat. She unlaced her boots and then laced them up again. She even took a stab at the crossword even though it only took her a minute. (Her last face had been obsessed with them so she already knew all the answers). 

She tried not to snort as she heard the little bell ring and her eyes settle on the rotund figure who walked in. 

Before,

Well,

Before the end, River had insisted that the Doctor not travel alone so convinced him to build a body for Nardole to take with him. The Doctor had ended up cutting Nardole out of Hydroflax and glued his head onto a new body. But before that body was done he needed to test it out so he leant it to Ramone to get the kinks out. So currently there were two bodies between the two men who swapped depending who was working at the Androvar, as the management thought the robot body brought a ‘spice’ to the place.

But she hadn’t realized she had arrived at Darillium while Ramone was testing out the body. Which meant, somewhere on this little planet a man and a woman were bracing themselves to say goodbye. 

The Doctor tried to not let that affect her.

Ramone sat in the seat opposite her and was silent. The Doctor really had never known what to make of them. There had been an afternoon in the early years where River sat him down and, to put it simply, broke up with him. The Doctor had awkwardly said she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to but she had only replied with, “nonsense Sweetie.”

The Doctor loved it when she called her Sweetie.

“Where are you from?” she asked Ramone. 

“The human colony on Botlh.”

“Planet of the Third Name,” the Doctor stated, trying to assert some sort of intelligence dominance. “That’s far, what are you doing on Darillium?”  
“An employment opportunity arose,” he said.

“Have you got a third name then? I don’t trust Botlhians who don’t use their third name.”

“Yeah, it’s Retsam.”

“Ratsam?”

“RET-sam.”

“RAT-sam?”

“Never mind,” he conceded. 

“Why don’t you go by Ratsam?” she asked.

“For that specific reason,” he murmured. “You had some questions about my paper?”

“Yes, why Temporal Nexuses?”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, it’s unusual for people to think of temporal theory more than just the perception of sound depending on temporal patterns. Somehow you concluded that because of these patterns the entire fabric of the universe could be changed and still function. You, a man from Botlh who doesn’t even go by his third name.”

“Sounds like you’ve got my autobiography.”

“No, you’re not important enough to warrant one, so how. Or more why this? Why now? Why you of all people?”

“I really don’t know what you want me to say. I was trying to find something to write my Master’s thesis on, I had a whole bunch of different ideas but my friend convinced me to write it on this one.”

“Friend? What friend?”

He hesitated, “just a friend.”

“Was it a man, tall-ish, an affinity for plum colored clothes?”

Ramone laughed, “what? No, it was just this girl I liked.”

“A girl? What girl?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business. Besides I don’t see what this has to do with my paper.”

“Okay, right I’m sorry,” the Doctor shook her head. “I’m going to be honest I don’t really know what I’m supposed to ask you.”

Ramone’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion, “how do you mean?”

The Doctor decided she needed to trust him a little if she was going to get to the bottom of this, “okay. I’m going to tell you something I probably shouldn’t but only because I need your help.”

“Okay?”

“There’s this, person. This evil, evil person. Who did a really bad thing. And after doing this bad thing he sent me a message.”

“You’re not giving me much to go on,” Ramone pointed out. “And what does this have to do with me?”

“His only clue was that he had read your paper.”

“Can I see the message?”

The Doctor considered having to explain not only the TARDIS to him but also that she only found his paper reflected in the eye of the hologram.

“It self-destructed after,” she lied.

“Oh, well then.” Ramone crooked his head. “And how bad was this bad thing?”

“Very bad.” 

“Is it possible that he regretted this bad thing?”

The Doctor considered this, “he’s complicated.”

“Okay well if the bad thing became a fixed point then maybe he wanted to undo it?”

“I considered that,” briefly but it just hadn’t made sense. Why would he destroy Gallifrey and then immediately regret it after?

“If he’s as twisted as you’re making him out to be, maybe it was practice?”

“How do you mean?” 

“Well, and this kills me to say, but if he didn’t know if my theory worked maybe he tested it out. Did this bad thing as a practice to see if he could do an even worse thing?”

The Doctor reminded herself that she hadn’t told Ramone that the ‘bad thing’ was the destruction of an entire planet and considered telling him there was no way that it was just practice. Gallifrey being saved was barely. . .

Oh?

But it was.

When the Doctor saved Gallifrey and hid it in a pocket universe she had indeed saved it. Creating a fixed point. Gallifrey didn’t fall during the Time War like it was supposed to be. If the Master knew it had been saved then he would know Ramone’s theory on fixed points being changeable would be true. Perhaps he would even retaliate so brutally against the Time Lords for keeping this fact from public knowledge. It would’ve been incredibly difficult to do. When River had tried to change a fixed point, time had almost died. 

And what would’ve been the point? What fixed point could he need to change so desperately that he would raze Gallifrey? What, just to see if he could?

No that wasn’t the Master’s style. 

_“I burned an entire city to the ground just to see the pretty shapes the smoke made.”_

The memory hit her like a train derailed off its tracks. Missy. Missy who had done so well. Missy who had almost convinced the Doctor she was good.

She did find out. That Missy had died that day on the Mondasian cyber ship. Nardole had sent her a message. A goodbye that had made the Doctor weep. It had arrived late, to this face and not her last but nonetheless, he had eventually found Missy’s body and given her a proper burial.

A proper burial.

“Ramone,” the Doctor said quietly almost in shock that it had taken her this long to piece together. “If someone died. If someone who technically wasn’t able to die, or supposed to die, died. That would become a fixed point right?”

“Yes? All death usually is.”

But that was impossible. That was thoroughly impossible. 

But it wasn’t.

If this version of the Master remembered killing Missy when he had his Harold Saxon face, even if his memories got scrambled and found out later. 

Could the Doctor have been thinking this through all wrong?

“Say, if someone’s past self killed their future self. And some version of them self in between found out. Could that middle self save the future self from dying in a fixed point because all three people are the same person?”

“Are you talking about time travel? Because you’ve kinda lost me a bit.”

“Yes. Obviously. Ramone get your stupid human head around it,” he was about to say something in the defense but the Doctor cut him off. “Yeah yeah I’m sorry. But is that possible?”

“All three are the same person? The victim, the murderer and the one who’s changing the fixed point?”

“Yes, I think so, yes.”

“Well, the one changing the fixed point would cancel the murderer out, because he knew what was coming. I supposed if the middle one interceded beforehand sending the past one away thinking he had done the job then yes. That fixed point could be changed.

That was all the Doctor needed.

“He’s trying to save himself from dying!”

“This evil man?”

“Yes, it all makes sense! The reason he isn’t still somewhat good is that he came _before_ Missy.” The Doctor slid out of the booth and started pacing. Ramone followed her to the door, checking something on his phone. “Gallifrey was a test run!” she continued. “Ramone you are a genius!” She pulled Ramone down and kissed him in excitement. “ He wanted to see if it was possible to save himself!”

Ramone blinked a few times, the Doctor knew he probably didn’t understand half of what she was talking about but she didn’t care. Finally, finally! She understood! She didn’t approve and still didn’t know how the Timeless Child fit into all of this but she understood!

“I have to go! I have to go find him and- and do something! I can fix this! I think, probably.” She took Ramone’s hand and shook it violently. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” and then she dashed out of the door. 

She was halfway back to the TARDIS when she realized she had forgotten her coat in the cafe. She wasn’t going to go back. She had lots of coats in the TARDIS and that wasn’t even her favorite. But she patted her pockets and realized her sonic was in that coat so she raced back to the cafe.

Once she opened the door she realized Ramone was sitting at their booth on the phone.

That wasn’t so weird, plus her jacket was there so she’d just walk over and grab it. But the Doctor was curious, who he could possibly be on the phone with.

So very quiet like she snuck up behind him and sat in the booth he was facing away from.

“Yes, of course, I can babysit tonight.”

Odd, the Doctor didn’t remember much of the final years of Darillium due to grief but she couldn’t recall anyone on the planet who had kids young enough to babysit.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t sound like it’ll be a quick trip.”

Let alone Ramone babysitting them?

“Are you sure you don’t want him to wait until he gets back? He might want to see you off?”

The Doctor strained to hear the other person’s words. She couldn’t make out most of them but she could hear a child in the background yelling and a female say, “you know how he worries.”

“Yeah, I supposed,” Ramone replied with a chuckle. 

The woman’s voice, the Doctor swore she recognized it. 

“Besides they have access to time travel, I’ll be back before either of them know I’m gone.”

The Doctor felt something strange twist in her gut. Some sort of dread looming over her. 

“Why risk it though? What if he comes home? You know he doesn’t like it when I babysit.”

“The Lux Corporation is willing to pay me handsomely for my skills and knowledge. And if this is my last year then-”

“I get it, I do. Listen I’m at Glisten right now. I can be there in a half-hour.”

“Marvelous, thank you.”

“Anything for you Professor Song.”

The woman hung up.

The Doctor couldn’t move she couldn’t even think. None of her thoughts were working properly. She silently slid out of the booth trying to comprehend what she just heard. 

Someone grabbed her wrist and she froze. Turning slowly to Ramone who didn’t look the same as he had a few minutes before. She realized this too late.

“Now Doctor,” he said slowly, and she felt her heart rate quicken. “You really shouldn’t have heard that.”

He placed the hand that wasn’t tightly gripping her wrist on her head and tilted his head back.

“Ramone, what are you-” Everything suddenly became foggy. Like she couldn’t quite keep her eyes open. 

“You’re so slow sometimes. You’re so smart but you’re so slow it’s embarrassing really.” He shook his head, “you asked me why I didn’t go by Retsam? You see Doctor, I do. Anagrams are such fun, aren't they?”

Thousands of thoughts flooded the Doctor’s brain. Desperate to grasp his meaning before she completely blacked out.

Retsam

R e t s a m

R e t s a m

M a s t e r

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUNDUNDUNNNNNN
> 
> I had this idea since Dhawan's Master was introduced. But don't worry, the whole "they don't look exactly like the same person thing will get resolved but AHH! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated! Thank you all so much for sticking with me and this story!


	12. Part XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys long time no update! I'm almost done writing this! So it's just a matter of getting it up on here! Thank you all so much for sticking with this strange little story! I appreciate all of you!

**Sheffield - March 4th, 2020**

“It hasn’t been that long.”

“It’s been two months Graham, what if she’s in trouble?” Ryan asked his Grandad one night at dinner. “What if she needs us?”

Yaz was over as well. She had taken to coming over to Graham’s house for dinner, lest she start believing that their travels with the Doctor were mere dreams. She didn’t entirely believe it had happened. She had seen so much it was difficult to think that all those extraordinary things had happened.

“You know the Doc, she’ll be turning up eventually.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Yaz asked agreeing with Ryan.”What if she dies and we aren’t there to protect her?”

“She was just going out for coffee,” Graham reminded, the voice of reason as always. “Surely nothing too dangerous could’ve happened.”

“With the Doctor anything is possible,” Ryan grunted leaning back in his seat.

Yaz smiled trying to bring some levity back to their dinner, “Hey, remember that time we went to that planet made of seafoam, what was it called again?”

“Kuiruta,” Ryan reminisced.

“Man I thought we were goners for sure,” Graham laughed. “Or that time we met Anne Boleyn, and the Doc accidentally engaged her to a robot?”

Yaz and Ryan both burst out laughing. “Her face when she realized whos’ wedding it was!” Ryan scrunched up his face in a ‘Doctor’ impersonation.

“No, it was more like-” Yaz repeated his face but with a more definite eyebrow rose and nose crinkle.

“That’s it! That’s exactly it!”

-

“Ryan, if the Doctor was in trouble,” Yaz started once dinner was cleared and Graham was out of earshot grabbing something from the other room.

“There’s nothing we could do, s’not like we have anything to go to Darillium with. We can’t just break into NASA and steal a spaceship.”

“She would for us.”

“She’s also the Doctor.”

“It’s just so frustrating! What if we never see her again.”

“Relax Yaz, it’s only been two months.”

“Only,” she mumbled.

“Who wants to play charades!” Graham asked, reentering the room with a small box. 

“S’it too late to break into NASA?” Yaz asked with a forced grin on her face.

“Ha. Ha,” Ryan whispered back.

“I got a new recliner after the Doctor broke my last one,” Graham placed the box on his new coveted chair and settled in, wiggling his shoulder, “I could get used to this.” 

“I’ll go first then?” Ryan asked, picking up a card. He raised an eyebrow, “did you write these?” He asked Graham. 

“Yes. I wrote an entire charades game and sent it to a toy company to be published,” Graham responded sarcastically.

“Alright alright chill it’s just, odd. Cause -“

“Don’t tell us! Mime it!”

“Okay, okay!”

He held his arms out in front of him and twirled indelicately. 

“A ballerina?” Graham asked. 

“A snake! No, no! A dog!”

“How do you think this is a dog?” Ryan asked after flapping his arms around for a bit. He made a whooshing sound and then jumped with a hard thumping sound.

“A dying bird?”

“A bird falling out of the tree!”

“No! Okay.”

He held up a finger.

“One Word?” Yaz asked.

“First Word?” Graham asked.

Ryan pointed to Yaz excitedly. He then repeated his flying motion and then another hard jump. 

“Plane crash! It’s gotta be!”

“No! It’s-“ Ryan sighed. And then started making a wheezing sound.

“You aren’t allowed to talk!”

“You guys aren’t gonna get it anyway!” He said and repeated the wheezing sound.

Except, it was soon joined by another wheezing sound. A louder sound that rattled the foundation of the house. 

“It’s her! She’s back!” Yaz shouted jumping back over a chair. The TARDIS was acting strange. It was creating a minor windstorm in the front room, much to Graham’s dismay, and wasn’t materializing properly.

“Doctor?” Yaz called out as the wind picked up and threatened to blow them all away. Ryan was struggling to hold onto Graham’s recliner while Graham was pressed up against the wall. Yaz held an arm in front of her trying to keep the window out of her face. She took a difficult step forward and then another.

“What’s going on?” Ryan yelled.

“I don’t know!” Yaz replied taking another step towards the malfunctioning box. 

“Well can you tell her to stop!” Graham hollered.

The TARDIS was now just hovering above the ground but was still emitting the violent wind. When Yaz placed her hand on the door frame, it stopped. The wind died down. The box dropped, splitting the wood.

But it was still, and silent.

Too silent.

Yaz knocked on the door, “Doctor? Doctor are you alright in there?”

The door creaked open. But it wasn’t the Doctor who poked her blonde head out. 

It was a woman who looked to be in her late 30’s. Tall, at least to Yaz. Wearing glasses that took up half her face and her fingernails, though finely trimmed, looked positively ghastly due to untreated burns and covered in some sort of black ash. 

“She doesn’t like me that much,” Yaz was told as the woman took in huge gulps of air as if she had been running.

“Who doesn’t like you? Who are you? Where’s the Doctor?”

“There’s no time, just get in! They’re coming.”

“Who’s coming?” Ryan asked once he had got his bearings together.

There was a rap on the door, a man’s voice, “OPEN UP THIS IS UNIT!”

“Hurry!” The woman insisted.

“Not until you tell us who you are and why you have the Doc’s TARDIS,” Graham said crossing his arms.

The woman groaned, “this is a waste of time can you please just trust me, please. I promise I’ll explain everything once we’ve saved the Doctor.”

A window on the other side of the house crashed and the four heard footsteps pattering quickly down the hall.

“Saved the Doctor? Saved her from what?” Ryan asked, turning back to the woman.

She held out her hand, “you’ve just got to trust me.”

Yaz took the woman’s hand, “I don’t trust you, but we don’t have a choice right now.”

The three piled into the TARDIS just as a group of about 10 men surrounded it. The woman in the box made direct eye contact with the only person in the group not wearing tactical gear and mouthed, “Sorry.”

“It’s not the Doctor, I checked,” Yaz whispered to Ryan and Graham. “Her pulse when I took her hand, only one heartbeat.”

“So she’s human?” Ryan asked.

“Probably, and she can fly the TARDIS” Yaz nodded.

“Who is she?” Graham asked.

“Are you talking about me?” The woman asked sheepishly. “It’s fine, I probably would too.”

The three turned to the woman who had joined them at the console after closing the TARDIS doors. She pulled a lever on the TARDIS and then pulled her fingers back sharply with a shocked sound. “Sorry, as I said, she doesn’t like me much.”

Yaz crossed her arms, “Where’s the Doctor and why can you fly the TARDIS?”

“Can’t really fly it that well,” the woman admitted wiping her brow. “We have a tenuous relationship to say the least.”

“Hey, hey we trusted you okay? Now it’s time to trust us,” said Graham. 

“Who are you?” Ryan asked.

The strange woman bowed her head in defeat towards the center of the console and took a deep breath. “It’s a long story.”

“We’re in a time machine,” Yaz reminded.

The woman nodded, “right, okay then. It’s probably best to start at the beginning. The last time you saw the Doctor was-?”

“When she dropped us off, here,” Ryan said.

“She was going to meet Ramone at a Cafe on a planet called Darillium,” Yaz added.

“Right. Okay, I can work with this,” she nodded, squeezing her fists, still breathing heavily.

“Are you alright?” Graham asked. “You seem a little out of sorts.”

“Just a little out of breath,” she admitted.

“Asthma?” Ryan asked. “I’ve got it too. Makes TARDIS trips a bit tricky sometimes.”

The woman smiled, “Well, yeah. There’s always running when the Doctor’s involved isn’t there?” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine, let me just find my inhaler.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iNHalER!!!!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Even if I cannot find the time to respond to them I love hearing all you have to say! <3


	13. Part XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Two in one go! This one's a bit shorter and I wanted to get it out there since I'm starting work on a Star Wars fic!

**Darillium - Year 23 and a bit**

Everything was dark, she knew something was wrong. She knew she wasn’t blind again, she could see, well, something. Light peeked out from the edges of the room. But the room, room? She wondered if she was in a coffin. But who kept their coffin’s upright? Seriously?

“Ramone, I can always count on you can’t I?” 

_ River _ . 

“Of course Professor. We’re going to have so much fun aren’t we Tater Tot?”

_ The Master. _

“You know I don’t like it when you call her that.”

“You called her a Time Tot!”

“Well, that’s what she is.”

“Sounds more like a prissy title than a species.”

“It’s not a species. How many times Ramone, she’s mostly human.”

“Uncky Ramone and me have playtime!?”

_ Ch-child?  _

“Yes, my darling. Now Mummy’s going out for a few hours but she’ll be home before Daddy alright?”

The Doctor slowly lifted her hand to rest against the wall in front of her and with her returning strength she banged her fist against it. And again. And again.

Who was the child that River was talking about? And now making kissy sounds at. The Doctor felt like she knew, somehow, she knew. But she wasn’t allowing herself to think of  _ that _ yet. 

No, first thing’s first. She needed priorities. She had to find out where she was, why it was so dark and why the room kept shaking.

What had happened last?

She remembered Glisten. And then, River on the phone asking him to babysit-

Then Ramone grabbed her, no not Ramone. 

The Master. 

But how could that have been? He looked and sounded just like him not 10 minutes before. How long had he been playing that role? 

The Doctor pounded her fist against the wall again. 

“River!” she called out. “River! Help me!” But her voice felt odd. Drowned out, insignificant, smaller.

Oh no.

Oh God no.

She'd know if she’d been miniaturized, right? She tried to recall how it felt when the Teselecta shrunk her but she couldn’t quite remember. 

She grabbed her head, straining her head, smaller brain meant less room for memories. 

“Okay, think Doctor,” she said aloud to herself so as to not go completely insane. “At a cellular level, you’re functionally the same just, smaller, possibly slower. But I can work with this.”

She licked her lips and wiggled her fingers, then with all her bodyweight jumped against the wall to her left and to her shock, she moved. She did it again. And millimetres by millimetre she moved. She had no idea where her little box was situated, she could fall off a ledge or even worse, run into a-

She stopped. 

She didn’t mean to stop but she must’ve hit a wall or something because the box wouldn’t move anymore. She groaned. She didn’t want to move forward or backwards because what good would being on her stomach be?

Unless 

Oh, she had to be right.

She crouched down and slowly pushed her little box so it was flat. Then slowly she crawled forward, pushing what she, correctly guessed was a matchbox, open. She took a deep breath of fresh air, propping herself up on her knees. She then took stock of where she was. But that didn’t take her long.

She spent the better part of 24 years here.

The Cottage, which River had dramatically christened-

Well, she had actually christened it something quite inappropriate while the Doctor had only ever called it the Cottage.

But it was  _ their _ cottage.

And now, here was Ramone, or the Master or whatever, defiling it.

And there was a child. 

A child that currently towered over the Doctor like a chubby, fleshy Statue of Liberty 

The Doctor knew that the Scotsman and River never had a child, they had tried, for years and years (and hours and hours)

-

“Maybe I’m just too old?”

“Oh pish. No, you’re not. Did you know the Face of Boe lived to be in the late four billion? And he still got plenty of action even at the end.”

“Yes well thank you for comparing me to a billion-year-old head. Also, it’s Jack Harkness what did you expect?”

River’s eyes widened, “ah! Spoilers,” she giggled, covering her face. Then slowly peeled a finger off her eye and said, “is he really.”

“Hard to believe.”

“Well, you're better than him.”

“Wife… have you-”

-

Even in the latter year they really never stopped trying. But Gallifreyan babies were difficult, and Gallifreyan-Human babies were even rarer. And quite frankly that’s something you would remember, wasn’t it? Having a kid. Besides, if the Doctor did have a child where was she now? Certainly, Eyebrows hadn’t left a small child to fend for herself while he was off having a temper tantrum

So then, why did this child call River, Mummy?

_ A Time Tot. _

God that was a term the Doctor hadn't heard in ages though she could imagine her last face bringing it up from deep within his memory banks, probably to be pretentious sounding.

She watched her wife, with her sparkling smile and space hair that never lost it’s magic 24 years on the same planet. She was still as radiant as the day they beheaded, well almost sorta beheaded, King Hydroflax. 

The Doctor leant against the leg of a dresser and watched the scene play out. In the Doctor’s memories, he came home from being at the grocery store and he knew.

God, he knew as soon as he entered the door. Everything was colder, blurrier, darker. He cursed himself for not getting home 10 minutes earlier, to say goodbye. To give her one last kiss. He had wept for days before Nardole had eventually knocked on his door, commenting on how he hadn’t seen them in a while.

But River had left a note, that the Doctor had eventually glued onto the last page of her notebook. Not a Ramone and child.

The little girl, the  _ time tot _ , fell onto her bum and started giggling uncontrollably.

Ramone picked her up and the Doctor instinctively called out, “put her down!” but her voice didn’t reach. 

“She’ll be fine,” he assured. “Now go before they leave without you.”

River kissed his cheek. “I owe you one!”

How could he? How dare he make her watch this, granted she was probably still supposed to be in her little matchbox which-

The Doctor hid behind the leg of the dresser as Ramone, still holding the girl, bent down and reached under the dresser. She watched as his hand wrapped around the matchbox. This meant she had less than a minute to think of a plan for when he found the box empty. 

She heard the door close. 

She needed to be big again. She didn’t know exactly how the Master’s TCE worked, nor did she fancy accidentally shrinking herself out of existence. If she could reach her sonic perhaps she could hit herself with a blast of kinetic energy so powerful it made her atoms expand therefore making her big again. It would have to hit her perfectly and completely though, lest she grow ten feet instead of her five and a half-ish bit, though she wouldn’t mind adding a few inches. 

She made a run for it. She noticed Ramone’s backpack on the other side of the room so she ran for it. She hoped he had stuffed her jacket into it and that her sonic hadn’t fallen out.

“Do you want to see something funny Tater Tot?” Ramone said in a sing-songy voice. He stood with the matchbox in his hand and by the time he was fully upright the Doctor was at his backpack. She climbed up the strap and rode the zipper down and jumped in. 

It was dark and smelled like rats. But luckily her jacket was on top and she dived towards her left inner pocket and begun tinkering with her 

Retsam,

Master,

She had spent so much time mocking his name that she hadn’t stopped to consider what it meant. He never strayed too far from his title. And the Doctor had trusted Ramone, not a lot considering he was married to his wife, but he trusted him more than the Master.

And now that was a lie too. 

“She’s gone,” Ramone exclaimed.

“Gone!” The girl mimicked.

“Where are you?” Ramone trilled with a more sinister snarl hiding behind his words, barely detectable.

Unless of course you were the Doctor and had known the Master for most of your lives. 

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” she heard Ramone put the girl down.

The Doctor held her breath, even though the Master probably couldn’t hear it anyway, as she linked the last two wires together. There was a spark and then it flashed green.

“Uncky Ramone I don’t like this game anymore.”

“Then sleep,” the Doctor cringed as she heard the girl collapse, probably doing to her whatever it was he did do the Doctor. 

But if she was going to help this little girl, who may or may not be her child, then she needed to be big again. She shuffled towards the front of the sonic and holding the crystal with both her hands she completed the point aspect of it.

Now all she had to do was think.

It started with her kidney. It was always the damn kidneys. It bubbled for half a second before she suddenly became big again. It wasn’t a gradual thing. Sizing was quick work. It felt strange for a second, maybe sometimes an ear lagged or you couldn’t smell out of your left nostril for a few minutes, but sometimes you just popped up with your boot in the backpack of your greatest enemy. 

Ramone turned to her. The Doctor noticed the small form of the child behind him. It was disorientating, to see the face of someone she knew so well marked with evil.

She held out her arms, “so what now? Are we going to fistfight?”

“You wouldn’t fistfight an old friend now would you?” he asked.

“We’re not friends if you were really Ramone you’d know that.”

He sighed, “obviously I didn’t mean the pretty boy. I meant-” He revealed a sort of doohickey wrapped around his wrist. He tapped it a few times and his face seemingly blurred out for a moment and when it returned it wasn’t Ramone’s face, it was the face that she had come to associate with her ‘best enemy.’ 

“But I thought you and Nardole shared a body?” the Doctor asked.

“Ah yes. The chubby fat one. Don’t worry I’m just borrowing this,” he said indicating his body.”

“Light fracture device?” the Doctor asked. 

“Low-level perception field,” he informed her. 

“Thus the squiggles.”

“I was sure you caught on Doctor. You’re getting slow in your older age.”

“Who’s the girl?” the Doctor demanded.

The Master looked behind him nonchalantly and then back to the Doctor. “You mean her?”

“No I mean the other child that you so rudely knocked out- Yes I mean her.”

He looked back at the child, then back at the Doctor. “So it works then?”

“What works?”

He let out a manic laugh, “that’s the thing. You don’t know  _ because _ it works.”

“Who is she,” the Doctor snarled through gritted teeth.

“Well, I suppose I can tell you now the deed is as good as done,” he clasped his hand together. “A family reunion, how lovely. Doctor, meet your daughter.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

The Doctor looked at the small figure curled on her side, peacefully unconscious, and couldn’t help but feel stabbed with longing. She would’ve loved it, having a kid with River. But there was no way, there was just no way. This was a deception, or a nightmare or some sort of mind trick.

The Doctor never left family behind.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

“I don’t have a daughter.”

“Are you sure about that?”

_ Less and less _ , but she didn’t say that aloud. Instead, she said “where am I?” before he could answer with a cheeky side comment she added. “I mean him, where is he?”

“Out picking up groceries. Have you figured it out yet?”

There were too many pieces, to a puzzle that wasn’t one-sided. She didn’t know what was truth and reality. On the one hand, she remembered specifically not having a child, being unable to. On the other, the evidence was right there. 

Well, “evidence.”

“I’m gonna stop you,” the Doctor assured him

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You don’t even know what I’m doing.”

“I’ll figure it out, I always do.”

“No, this one’s a bit trickier I expect it will take you a little while. And while you try to figure it all out,” he picked up the little unconscious girl in one hand and adjusted his wrist thingy. 

The Doctor only realized he was prepping coordinates on a vortex manipulator when he gave her one final look and said, “I’ll be long gone.”

She lunged forward, but he and the girl were gone. 

And she was alone.

She never even found out her own possible daughter’s name.

She fell to the ground and hugged her knees.

She was alone again. 

The Cottage was silent, save for the wind chimes River had once purchased from the markets on Tiaanamat in exchange for a lock of hair (she  _ had  _ lied and said it was magic, but the people of Tiaanamat didn’t need to know that). 

She wasn’t going to cry, she promised herself that. Because she was the Doctor and everything was in control. But she was also the Doctor, and everything was falling apart and she couldn’t grasp at the strings that held her life together tight enough. As soon as she thought she knew something, as soon as she felt maybe she was two steps ahead something happened that would suffocate her. That would send her back to the beginning. She never had a plan, she just crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. She didn’t even know if anything Ramone said at Glisten was credible because of course, he was the Master. Of course, he was, it seemed so obvious and if the Doctor hadn’t been blinded by such human jealousy maybe she would’ve realized it sooner.

She was a fraud, a scam. 

She was scared.

And she was very, truly, utterly alone.

“Doctor?”

Yaz?

A door swung open and the Doctor looked up.

But that was impossible. 

“Doctor?”

“Doc, are you in here?”

Ryan? Graham?

Maybe, just maybe she wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.

At least for now.

“In here.”

She heard four pairs of footsteps running down the hallway.

Four? That’s interesting. Last time she checked she only had three companions. But maybe she miscounted.

The group entered the room and the Doctor was confused to see an old genuine friend amongst them. 

“Osgood?” She asked. 

She gave the Doctor an awkward wave, “hi!”

It definitely was her, but what was she doing here? 

“Hello, gorgeous," someone suddenly called from the front room. "I've missed you, by the way. And I hate to see you so upset so I picked up your favourite." The owner of the voice turned the corner to see the five people on the floor in his living room and very slowly finished, “Lemon chicken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise it won't be another two weeks before the next update! Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	14. Part XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's crazy to think that the last time I posted we weren't in a corona quarantine! Hope you all are keeping safe and washing your hands! I finished the fic too! So I'm hoping to have it all up very soon!

**Ambrose Hill Orphanage - London - January 19th, 1981**

“You’re saying you just found her?”

“Yes, she was unconscious and cold on the street! I didn’t know where else to bring her.

“Well you did the right thing, better she be raised here than on the street.” She smiled at the little girl. “Hello, darling? And what’s your name?”

The little girl didn’t respond.

“Do you know where your Mummy and Daddy are?”

The little girl shook her head. 

“Well perhaps she could a medical evaluation and then-“

“No!” The main exclaimed quickly. He cleared his throat, “I mean. I tried taking her to a Doctor but she bites.”

“Bites? Good gracious then, well were will definitely take her in thank you, Mr-?”

“Ramone Lucks, ma’am. I just hope she’s raised with all the love and care she deserves.”

**_The_ Cottage - Darillium - Year 23 and a bit**

“Darling do you have friends over?” The grey-haired man called from being frozen in the doorway. When there wasn’t a response he called out again and turned into the kitchen. “River?”

The Doctor stood up. She definitely didn’t remember this. But she knew that all of the feelings of despair and loneliness she felt was nothing compared to what this man would feel in a matter of minutes. 

“Hello?” Osgood said slowly.

The old man popped his head back into the room, “yes, hello, I’m sure she’s just ducked out for a moment.” Then something clicked behind his eyes. “Osgood? Blimey, how did you get here?” He scanned the room looking for another familiar face, “and Kate Stewart! Good to see you ag-”

“I’m not Kate,” the blonde Doctor told the gray one, avoiding making eye contact.

“Oh,” he paused and then squinted. “Well you have very similar haircuts,” he laughed. 

He was so happy here. 

She didn’t remember this. Meeting her future self, she didn’t even really know if she had a child.

But God if she did remember the lighthearted happiness she felt. Made her feel 300 years younger ‘

But there was also the utter desolation she felt after she knew it was the end. 

“Well,” he said to her and her companions. “Who are you then?”

“Who are we?” Ryan asked. “Who are you mate?”

“White-haired Scotsman,” Yaz whispered, mostly to herself. 

“Graham,” Graham said, oblivious to the identity of the mysterious stranger. He extended his hand, “nice to meet you.”

“You as well, I’m the Doctor.”

Graham made a sound of confusion as the old man shook his hand. “Are you sure about that mate?” He asked.

“How do you mean?” The male Doctor asked.

“He asks because,” The female Doctor stood. “I am also the Doctor.”

**Third Moon of Babrosie - 51st Century**

“Professor Song, are you almost ready to depart?”

“Yes, I just have one last thing-”

Mr. Lux peered at the screen that her suit projected, “what are you doing?”

“Oh you know,” she smirked at him. “Texting a boy.” She hadn’t wanted to ask her husband for help. But quite frankly this was exactly his type of adventure. A planet that had been silent for 100 years, over four thousand people saved, but no survivors? It had  _ Doctor _ written all over it. And what sort of wife would she be to deny him one last adventure together?

_ The library, Come as soon as you can. X _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated! <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Totally forgot about this but uhh! Happy quarantine! I'll be adding the end of this story tonight! (This is not it). I also realized I posted the last two parts in the wrong order but I fixed it now! I hope you enjoy!

**_The_ Cottage - Darillium - Year 23 and a bit.**

The male Doctor scrunched his attack eyebrows in confusion. “You’re me?”

“Well yeah, not like it’s the first time we’ve met ourself though is it?”

The older Doctor chuckled, “no I suppose it isn’t.” He gave her a look up and down. “Just thought I’d be taller”

“And I thought you’d be ginger. That was a disappointment, wasn’t it? Finally Scottish and not ginger?”

“Is anyone else lost or is it just me?” Graham asked nobody in particular.

“So you’re what happens, after me?”

“Takes a bit but you get there eventually. And you,” the she-Doctor said pointing in the direction of the scientist who was halfway to the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I have to go back?”

“Back?” the male Doctor asked. “To earth? How?”

“She brought us here in your TARDIS,” Yaz said. “We thought she was you.”

“Osgood isn’t me! Osgood is, Osgood.,” the Doctor said.

“And what exactly are you doing here?” the other Doctor said.

“Listen I have instructions to take the TARDIS back to exactly 10 minutes after I took it, very precise, so I have to go.”

“Instructions from who?” Both Doctors asked at the same time.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you, my job was only to deliver.” She smiled at both of them, “But I expect you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Zygon or human?” the gray one asked once Osgood was almost at the door.

She only shifted and said, “wouldn’t you like to know,” and left the Doctors and new friends.

There was silence for a long moment. Everyone digesting Osgood’s parting words. Then the younger Doctor spoke, “well I assume there’s a reason you’re here then? I don’t normally step into my past-self’s lives for tea and biscuits.”

The companions only watched as she slowly sat down on the couch.

“It peaceful here,”

“It is.”

“One might even say heaven. It’s so quiet.”

“I suppose it is, it’s usually never quiet,” he trailed off, eyes widening. “Actually it is very strangely quiet is Donnie here?”

“Who’s Donnie?”

“What do you mean who-?” he stopped suddenly. And he got very very quiet. Too quiet. 

The Doctor could barely hear his words, she wished she hadn’t. This face had been so proud, so calculating, so put-together. But when he spoke, he was the Doctor, the scared Doctor, the lonely Doctor.

“Where’s River?”

“I’m so sorry,”

“No, no. Where is she? She’s probably just out with Donnie for lunch, right? That’s probably it isn’t it.”

He sat down silent again

“Doctor, who’s Donnie?” she asked.

“You keep saying that like you don’t know the name of your own daughter. Donnie, short for Donna,” he paused. “Well I suppose it’s not shorter but it’s a sort of nickname-”

“HER WHAT!?”

**Outside _The_ Cottage - Darillium - Year 23 and a bit**

The blue box responded to her. Was kind to her, maybe she knew the truth. The truth that Osgood barely knew herself.

_ I expect you’ll find out soon enough _

It was true, very soon now for the Doctor.

Very soon indeed. 

She watched the female Doctor leave the cottage with her friend in tow. Osgood watched, safely invisible, from behind a barrier generated by the TARDIS 

“We can’t just leave him alone?”

“Why not! I’m always alone,” she snapped. Then she must’ve felt bad because she added, softer “besides I’m just fetching something from the TARDIS

“A quantum range defibrillator?” 

“A thermo-nuclear isotope blanket?”

“A hydrogenic fluoride radius?”

“What? No. Now you’re just making up words.”

She watched as the Doctor entered her TARDIS and then quickly exit again holding a vial of golden liquid.

“Whisky?”

“But Doc, I thought you hated alcohol?”

“I do! Well, mostly. He’s in a fragile mental state right now?”

“Exactly are you sure alcohol's going to help?”

“It helped me! At least he’s got the luxury of having someone deliver it to him.”

She watched the quartet head back to the cottage and then watched as the female Doctor dropped said whisky bottle as her eyes widened.

Osgood entered the TARDIS and heard the far off shriek of the Doctor asking her friends, “where did he go!”

_ Very soon indeed.  _

**_The_ Cottage - Darillium - Year 23 and a bit.**

“Oh n- you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Where did he go?”

“He was just here a minute ago.”

The Doctor groaned. “I’m always doing this. Running away when I have friends to help me. One of my flaws I guess.”

“To be fair, it’s one of your only flaws,” Yaz murmured.

“He couldn’t have gotten far, he’s old.”

“Good shape though. Must be all the running.” 

The three companions laughed, but the Doctor wasn’t amused. She smelled a new layer of artron energy coating the front room which could’ve only meant one thing.

“He’s back?”

“Who’s back, Doc?”

“The Master, he’s back to finish the job.”

“What do we do?”

“Don’t worry,” she assured them. “I know just how to find him.”


	16. Part XVI

**A TARDIS - Deep Space**

He didn’t recognize the man in the plum suit. Nor did he recognize the room he came to in. But that console was of Gallifreyan origin he knew that much.

He also knew this wasn’t his TARDIS. His TARDIS was kinder, smarter, and would never allow him to be tied up against his will within her walls. 

“Hello?” He said to the man, “and who are you then?”

The man didn’t respond. He just pulled another lever on his console.

“Do I have you to thank for,” he then tried to move, to no avail, but the point was made.

“This is difficult for me, I hope you know,” he said. 

“What are you on about?”

“But one day you’ll see,” he turned, with a strange sort of gas mask in his hand, “I did this all for you.” He took a step towards the Doctor, lifting the mask to his face.

“I don’t think so,” he shifted and caught his sonic as it fell out of his pocket.

“Deadlocked, please I’m not an amateur.” He grabbed the sonic and secured the mask onto the Doctor’s face. “Are you my mummy?” He chuckled. “No that’s your line isn’t it?”

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing yet, but I will. And when I do, you can’t be having some of these pesky memories.”

The glass in front of his eyes was old, dusty and tinted yellow which meant it was very difficult to see through. But he watched as the man pulled up a screen, filled with photos of-

“Donna,”

“Yes, your daughter, lovely little girl.”

“What have you done with her?

“Nothing that wasn’t meant to happen, nothing that wasn’t always supposed to happen.”

“And River?”

“Professor Song has gone to where she was always destined to go.” The Doctor felt both of his hearts sink. “She’s about to meet her daughter’s namesake, that’s very exciting isn’t it? Now let us see, what would happen if I-“

He brought up a photo of a particularly joyful family memory. The Doctor instantly recognized it. It was Donna’s third birthday. Sun crept in from all the windows in the cottage. Her wispy blonde hair was just beginning to show some of her mother's curls and she had enough earth blueberries smushed on her face to start a farm. River’s blurry form was barely noticeable behind their daughter but the Doctor knew it was because she had chased Donnie all over the house trying to get the fruit off her face.

“How sweet,” the plum man said light-heartedly. Then instantly turned. “Interface purge memory.”

“What?” The Doctor asked

_ “Purging memory.” _

He screamed out in pain and suddenly the light, the blueberries, the blurry form of his wife were simply,

Gone,

“What have you done?”

The plum man smiled.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” The Doctor yelled. “Give it back-“

“Or else what Doctor? Tell me I’m very curious to know.” 

The Doctor didn’t respond, he just tried to grab hold of the strings of his memory but it was too far gone. 

“Interface,” the plum man started, “purge all memories of Donna Song.”

“No. No! Interface stop! Cancel!”

“Nice try, she only listens to me.”

“Please,” the almighty Doctor begged. “Please I’ll do anything.”

“But Doctor, I don’t want anything. That’s what you don’t understand. That’s what you’ve never understood. I only want to help you,”

It all made sense now. This was why his future self didn’t recognize Donnie’s name.

“But I also want you to be miserable.”

“Please,” he spoke weakly. “Don’t take her away from me too.” 

_ “Purging all memories of Donna Song.” _

The Doctor let out a mighty roar of pain as memory by memory was quickly plucked from his mind.

“Who are you?” The Doctor asked the plum suited man

“I think you know,” he flicked another switch. “Interface remember to overwrite and compensate.

_ “Yes, Master.”  _

The Doctor’s eyes closed.

**The TARDIS - Deep Space**

And when they opened again he was back on his TARDIS. 

He didn’t know where he had been. The past few weeks without River had been a blur. 

Had it been weeks?

God he probably drank alcohol, didn’t he? 

He knew better than to do that

He didn’t usually drink, and never enjoyed it when he did, but damn if it didn’t make the pain go away.

There was a knocking on his door

The Doctor took a deep breath. River might be gone but he would keep her memory alive as long as he lived. He didn’t know what he was so worried about in the first place.

**Another TARDIS - Deep Space**

She knelt and closed her eyes. 

She could still see his TARDIS in her mind so establishing the connection was easier. The way he had left it, looking like the cottage from some kid's book. He was at his console pouring over something with care. Then he turned to her as if he had known.

She twitched her nose. “So what is it then? You do all this. You make me miserable. You take away my memories and for what? To save yourself?” She stood and took a step towards him. “What gives you the right to decimate an entire people? Is it because of your intense self-loathing?”

“Doctor I’m afraid your information is incorrect.”

“Maybe so, I’ve had to scrape for the scraps of information I have,” she smiled a not so Doctor smile. “But now I know where you are. “

She pulled a lever on her own console and the ringing sound of breaks filled the air. 

“Doctor what are you doing?” Yaz asked as she, Ryan and Graham were tossed around the bridge of the TARDIS. 

“Something I should’ve done a long time ago.”

There were rapid crashing sounds coming from around her and in her head. She heard a voice in her mind that was not her own say, “you idiot! Two TARDIS’s can’t exist in the same place.” 

“Well neither can two of the same people,” she said pulling another lever and pushing two more buttons. Hoping the fire on the stairs would put itself out.“Besides, I think we both know some rules can be broken for the sake of the universe.”

“The universe? Hell Doctor, you always were a geek for the dramatics.”

Suddenly all the beeping and crashing and bumping about had ceased. They were still in the Doctor’s TARDIS. Or her companions thought they were. 

For one minute they were in the Doctor’s crystal den, the next in the Master’s thrifty hut. 

“Doc what’s going on.”

“Two TARDIS’s, one point in space in time,” the Master answered for her. “Tricky but effective if you want to trap someone.

“Why did you do it?” the Doctor asked.

He stretched his neck, and rolled his eyes, exhaling slightly. “Why did I do what?”

“Destroy Gallifrey! If you wrote an entire paper on how fixed points can be rewritten because I’m assuming there’s no such thing as Ramone Lucks, then why did you need to prove it then? Why couldn’t you just save Missy and be done with it?”

“Ah I think I see where your confusion stems from,” he crossed his arms and leant against his own console. “You see, I didn’t destroy Gallifrey because I wanted to save myself.”

“What? But that’s what Ramone told-”

“Yeah, see, I lied.” 

The Doctor paused, “what?”

“I, lied. I do it all the time you cannot seriously be surprised.”

She launched at him. She attempted to wrap her small fingers around his throat, her vision was all red and she felt strong Ryan hands pull her back as Yaz stepped in between the two. “I’ve had it,” the Doctor seethed. “I’ve had it with you. And your lies- just let me,” she shook Ryan off. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” She looked down, then back up at his brown misleading puppy-dog eyes. “What. Do you mean you lied? What did you lie about?”

The TARDIS decor switched back to the crystal cave that comforted the Doctor immensely. She was just so tired. This day seemed to be never-ending and she couldn’t remember the last time she caught a break. She just wanted to lay down for a few years and perhaps be held, being held would be nice. 

“You’re insufferable, did you know that? There is no word to describe how irrefutably unbearable you are.”

She shrugged and simply said, “I think the word Doctor fits that description quite nicely.” 

“Alright. Gallifrey fell because it had to. Because it always was supposed to.”

“Are you talking about the story of the Timeless Child?” the Doctor asked, still more confused than not. “Lost within time itself, they will bring destruction to Gallifrey. What? Do you fancy yourself a legend?”

“The Time-Lords lied about the legend.”

“So you’re mad because a fairytale we were told as children didn't live up to your expectations?” 

He banged his fist against one of the Doctor’s crystals and they were back in his shack. He paced for a moment, shaking his head. “You still don’t get it do you.” He turned to her. “The Timeless Child is the saviour of Gallifrey. The reason they told us the Child would bring destruction was to strike fear in us.”

“So what? People tell stories all the time. What is the big deal Koschei?” She hadn’t even realized she had said his name until he paused in his pacing to look at her. 

His features darkened, “okay,  _ Theta, _ since we’re using those names now. I’m going to say this in quite possibly the simplest terms. So even you could possibly understand it.” They locked eyes. “Donna Song.”

“You mean the daughter that you erased from my memories?”

“The very same. Curious isn’t it? How just as her mother dies her father loses his memories of her.”

“Which was your fault.”

“I’m not finished,  _ Theta _ ,” he repeated stoking the fire. “One might even say she was born to be forgotten.”

“Lost within time itself,” she whispered, finishing his thought. “Donna is the Timeless Child? But then, where did you take her?”

“Well, I thought you had figured that part out.”

She had, but she hadn’t time to think of that right now. The Master was in a secret telling mood, she needed him to stay like that. 

“Alright then, my daughter is the Timeless Child. And you’re saying now she’s not destined to destroy Gallifrey but to save it. What has this all got to do with you.”

“Oh everything Doctor, everything. See, I’m going to tell you another truth that I lied about,” he said excitedly, clapping his hands together. Like a child, wired off sugar and energy. “My regeneration by the name of Missy. The one that was killed by Harold Saxon. Well, I survived that!”

“How? How did you-”

“Spoilers.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “River saved you?

“What? No, you silly billy. I just meant,” he sighed. “You don't have to alter a fixed point if you mess with your past self’s gun a little bit.”

“But why? Why would you lie about all this? If you weren’t doing it to save yourself then why?

“Full of questions  _ Thet _ ,” he popped his lips, as the interior of the TARDIS changed back to its yellow hue. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I didn’t answer the rest?”

“Not really.”

He shook his head. “Truly I think thanks are in order. I destroyed Gallifrey so your daughter can one day save it! Easy peasy.”

“So where do fixed points come into play? Why did you write a paper on it?”

“Ramone Lucks.”

“Yes?”

“You’re so thick, it’s a wonder you get anything done. Ramone Luh-cks.”

“Ramone… Lux?”

He grinned.

“Of the Felman Lux corporation? He wrote me the letter that told me River had, that was you?”

“Of course it was Doctor, isn’t it always  _ me _ ? Ever since we were kids, I was always meddling in your life. Because it’s fun because I was bored?”

“You killed her?”

“No, Doctor. She was our fixed point in the equation. Do you know, she wasn’t supposed to die in the Library? No, she was supposed to have a much worse fate. But I think I’ll keep that to myself if that’s all the same to you. I would hate to have you rampage across your timelines trying to fix things. The point is, I invented the Felman Lux corporation to keep her in her little mind bank safe and sound from destiny,” he shook his head. “You don't even know the lengths I have gone for you.”

“I thought you hated me.”

“I never hated you.”

“Your multiple attempts to kill me say otherwise.”

“It’s our flirting Doctor, isn’t it?”

“Why go through all the trouble?”

He took a deep breath. “Near-immortality gets so dull. And like I told you, this body came after Missy. I’m trying to do good. Just like you taught me”

She couldn’t find the words, her mouth went dry and every attempt to say something just felt wrong. Like everything was her fault even though she did nothing more than try to influence her eldest friend towards the good. “This is not good.”

“My turn. Why?”

“Because you can’t do that! You can’t just change the future to make it suit your fancy. History is not your playground.”

“But it’s yours. I’m just following what you’ve taught me.”

“I don’t change things. I allow events to play out exactly how they are supposed to,” she paused. “Mostly. But nothing that would drastically change the progression of time like destroying a planet for example and kidnapping my daughter, and-”

“And saving your wife from a fate worse than the Library.”

“I’m not sure you did,” the Doctor tapped her foot, still feeling like she didn’t have the whole story. Because she never had the whole story with him. “So you destroy Gallifrey so my daughter could fulfil her destiny to save it, you trapped my wife in an endless library of data to save her and you wiped my memories of my own daughter so she can be the Timeless Child.”

“Wow,” Ryan said, reminding the Doctor that her companions were still on board. “My mates won’t even pick up a cuppa for me on the way to basketball.”

“What was River’s fate supposed to be?” Yaz asked.

“I’m not allowed to tell you.”

“Says who?”

“Says her,” he said simply pointing to the Doctor.

“What?”

“But you’ll never know that feeling now thanks to my intervention. Imagine, the unyielding Doctor. Begging. On her knees, for me to please, please save her.” He stomped, “and I did! Because I can’t say no to you Doctor.”

“So do you expect me to just let you go now?” the Doctor asked.  
“Well, I have done you a massive favour.”

“A favour? You killed our entire species because a fairytale was misinterpreted.”

“That fairytale was misinterpreted so your daughter can have a stupid adventure to save it. I don’t mind being the bad guy, Doctor, it’s the role I’m most accustomed to but please don’t pretend that I haven’t done everything for you. Besides, you don’t want to kill me, do you  _ Thet _ , so what are you going to do with me instead?”

“I could take you to the Shadow Proclamation. Or the High Council or-”

“Or Carnathon to subject me to the fatality index again or any other sort of space police but face it. I’m always here, in the corner of your mind. The virus in your perfect little world. You don’t want me dead, Doctor. Or else you’ll really be the last Time-Lord in the universe. Or the last Gallifreyan one at least.”

The TARDIS interior switched back to the Master’s cottage and he casually pulled a lever which triggered a sort of dinging that sounded like a toaster oven. “Oh look, that’s all the time for today”. He cackled as the sound of the Tardis rang through the air once more. “It’s been, fun Doctor. You should call me sometime. Maybe go watch Frozen again. I’m sure it’ll be fun now that you can see.”

Their surroundings flashed quickly between the cottage and the crystals. It grew brighter and brighter which forced the Doctor and her companions to cover their eyes and once it died down the flashing had stopped and the Master and his TARDIS were gone. 


	17. Part XVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Final Chapter!!! I hope you all enjoy it!

**The TARDIS - Sheffield**

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you there Doc?” Graham asked. As the Doctor dropped them off less than an hour after they had left their dinner and charades.

She shrugged, “this is something I have to do on my own.”

Yaz took the Doctor’s hand. “You don’t have to do everything alone.”

“I know but this. . . this is personal.”

Yaz nodded and pulled the Doctor into a hug. Ryan and Graham soon joined in. 

The Doctor sank into her friends, holding them as tight as she could with all her considerable Time-Lord strength.

She wished she never had to let go.

But she always did. Nothing lasts forever. It was the journey that mattered, it was the friends you made along the way and the shared laughter and smiles. That’s what she had learnt time and time again. That was good

The hug slowly unravelled and she leant against the door of her TARDIS crossing her arms in thought. 

“That’s what the Master doesn’t understand,” she told her friends. “Time well spent together is the greatest gift of all.

“Do you think he’s really changed?”

“I don’t know if he’s capable of that. I don’t think he understands it, not yet. But I have hope.”

She opened the door to the TARDIS and leant against the doorframe.

“So I’ll pick you up next weekend then?”

“Why do I get the feeling you won’t come back?” Yaz asked.

“I will,” the Doctor promised.

But they all knew the Doctor’s first rule.

She was about to close the door when Graham asked, “Why did he keep calling you Thet-?”

“Theta Sigma,” the Doctor said. “It’s my name.”

“Like your real name? Doctor Sigma.”

“No, not my name-name. At the academy, we all chose names since a Time-Lord’s true name has power. I remember declaring mine and the headmaster told me-“

“Doctor, are you stalling for some reason.”

“Perhaps,” she admitted, then simply closed the door. 

The wheezing of the TARDIS filled the air, one moment she was there.

The next she was gone.

And then she was back.

The TARDIS at least.

The door opened and the three didn’t recognize the man that jumped out. The man was eccentric in a familiar way and something was definitely on fire behind him.

“Is this the correct weekend?” The strange man asked.

“What?” 

“I said next weekend! Well, I said that a long time ago so it could've been this weekend or next weekend or even last weekend! Oh but I do so hate being late. Definitely have gotten into some trouble because of that”

“I’m sorry mate, who are you?” Ryan questioned. 

“Ah yes well. That’s a very good question. I’m not quite sure, see, but I knew my last thought when I was still a woman was to come to Sheffield this weekend. Possibly next. See I promised but then things happened, as things usually do, and I got a wee bit distracted. But anyway,” he gave them a familiar smile. “Fancy a trip in the box?”

The Doctor’s companions grinned with realization. 

**UNIT Headquarters - London - January 19th, 2018**

Petronella Osgood knew two things with absolute certainty. 

The first thing was don't ever taste or sniff chemicals, especially aliens ones that were green and slimy. Honestly, she should’ve known better but the scent coming off the goop was just daring her to come closer. It beckoned her like the fresh apple pie she made for her boss/girlfriend two weekends ago. It wasn’t long after that they discovered the goop attracted you to the scent you loved most and then it poisoned you. Luckily she could pull herself away before this happened.

The second thing was when you heard the sound of the TARDIS during your tea break you definitely needed to get your inhaler out. She wondered if it was a version of the Doctor she had met before. Perhaps the eyebrow-less man that travelled with that Clara Oswald. Or the man always on the move, or the old man, or the other old man, or the Scottish old-

A woman walked out. 

Oh?

“Osgood!” The woman said softly. “How are you?”

“Doctor?” She asked, taking a puff from her inhaler.

“Are you free right now? Can you talk?”

“I? Yes! Yes of course! But,” she paused. “Don’t you have friends to talk to?”

“You are my friend!” The Doctor said.

“Alright,” she said awkwardly. “Then, what do you want to talk about? Would you like some tea?”

“No, I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Oh,”

“I need a favour.”

“Yes?”

“But first I need to know Osgood or Bonnie?”

Osgood let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “of course. You haven’t changed.”

“Human or zygon?”

“Doctor,”

“Please, I need to know.”

“Got a bet?”

“Please.”

“Osgood.”

“You’re stubborn,” the Doctor paused and then slowly added, “just like your mother.”

She wondered how she’d never seen it before. 

Osgood’s eyes welled up a little and found she couldn’t keep eye contact with her. “I never knew my mother.”

“Would you like to meet her?”

“I,” she whispered. “I don’t know. What do you say to the woman who abandoned you?”

_ She didn’t abandon you, I did. But I’m here now, and I’m not leaving you again. _

“She didn’t abandon you.”

“I was adopted, Doctor. And I love my mum and dad,”

“But,” the Doctor egged.

“But I suppose I’ve always wondered.” 

She could see the tenderness in Osgood’s eyes and took the opportunity to pull out her sonic and scan the woman.

“Human,” she told her. 

“I think I’d forgotten,” Osgood admitted with a small chuckle, her thoughts still on her true parents. 

“Half-human,” the Doctor said. “Half-human, half-Gallifreyan.”

Osgood stood suddenly. “I’m sorry WHAT?”

The Doctor smiled up at her daughter. “We’re going to save your mum,” she told her. “And then, you’re going to save Gallifrey.”

“Sorry?”

“But first I need you to take the TARDIS to bring my friends to a planet called Darillium, oh! But you mustn't tell them I sent you.”

“Wait, wait you’re going too fast. Saving people? Saving planets? Doctor, I’m nobody”

“Donna Song, you are the most important woman in the whole of creation.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END!!!
> 
> Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. I started writing this fic just after Episode 1 of Season 12 premiered and it's been such a rush developing my theory!
> 
> As always comments and kudos are always appreciated! And be sure to check out my other fics as well and subscribe!
> 
> Geronimo!


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